;g5r^v  OF  pmc^ 


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BP  134. J37  Z9  1912 
Zwemer,  Samuel  M. 
The  Moslem  Christ 


THE    MOSLEM    CHRIST 


MAY  10  1913 


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## 


THE 
MOSLEM  CHRIST 

An  Essay  on  the  Life, 
Character,  and  Teachings  of 
Jesus  Christ  according  to  the 
Koran  and  Orthodox  Tradition 


BY 


/ 


SAMUEL    M.    ZWEMER 

D.D.,  F.R.G.S. 

AUTHOR   OF    "the   MOSLEM   DOCTRINE   OF  GOD "    "ARABIA 

THE  CRADLE   OF  ISLAM"    "ISLAM,    A  CHALLENGE 

TO   FAITH"   ETC. 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY 
150  NASSAU  STREET,   NEW  YORK 


TO 


Sames  Canttne 


PIONEER  MISSIONARY,   YOKE-FELLOW   AND   FRIEND 
FOR  TWENTY  YEARS  IN  ARABIA 


"  Who,  tliinkest  thou,  might  that  have  been,  con- 
ceived without  an  earthly  father,  and  to  whom  at  His 
birth  Satan  could  find  no  way  of  approach  ? 

"Who  could  that  have  been,  named  in  the  Koran  'The 
Word  of  God  and  a  Spirit  from  Him  ' ;  called  also  in  the 
Sunnat  '  The  Spirit  of  God '  ?  For  what  Being,  one 
would  ask,  could  be  greater  than  the  Spirit  of  God  ? 

"  Who  could  that  have  been  who,  we  are  told,  spoke  to 
those  around  Him  while  yet  in  the  cradle  ?  Who,  that 
could,  as  Beidhawi  explains,  give  life  to  the  dead  and 
to  the  hearts  of  men  {i.e.  to  their  bodies  and  to  their 
spirits)  ;  who  other  than  the  Almighty  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  ? " — From  the  Minar  ul  Haqq  (An  Apology  for  the 
Christian  Faith),  p.  159. 


INTRODUCTION 

ISLAM  is  the  only  ODe  of  the  great  non- 
GhristiaD  religions  which  gives  a  place  to 
Christ  in  its  book,  and  yet  it  is  also  the  only  one  of 
the  non-Christian  religions  which  denies  His  deity, 
His  atonement,  and  His  supreme  place  as  Lord  of 
all  in  its  sacred  literature.  In  none  of  the  other 
sacred  books  of  the  East  is  Christ  mentioned ; 
the  Koran  alone  gives  Him  a  place,  but  does  it 
by  displacing  Him.  With  regret  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  there  is  hardly  an  important  fact 
concerning  the  life,  person,  and  work  of  our 
Saviour  which  is  not  ignored,  perverted,  or  denied 
by  Islam. 

Yet  Moslems  acknowledge  Jesus  Christ  as  a 
true  prophet,  and  no  less  than  three  of  the  chap- 
ters of  the  Koran,  namely,  that  of  Amrans 
Family  (Surah  III),  that  of  The  Table  (Surah  V), 
and  that  of  Mary  (Surah  XIX),  are  so  named 
because  of  references  to  Jesus  Christ  and  His 
work.     The  very  fact  that  Jesus  Christ  has  a 

7 


8  INTRODUCTION 

place  in  the  literature  of  Islam,  and  is  acknow- 
ledged by  all  Moslems  as  one  of  their  prophets, 
in  itself  challenges  comparison  between  Him  and 
Mohammed,  and  affords  an  opportunity  for  the 
Christian  missionary  to  ask  every  sincere  Moslem, 
"  What  think  ye  of  the  Christ  ? "  This  is  still 
the  question  that  decides  the  destiny  of  men 
and  of  nations.  To  help  our  Moslem  brethren 
answer  this  question,  however,  we  must  know 
what  Moslems  believe  in  regard  to  Christ,  and 
lead  them  up  to  higher  truth  by  admitting 
all  of  the  truth  which  they  possess.  Not  our 
ignorance,  but  our  accurate  knowledge  of  the 
Moslem  Christ,  will  enable  us  to  show  forth  the 
glory  and  the  beauty  of  the  Christ  revealed  in 
the  New  Testament  to  those  who  ignorantly 
honour  Him  as  a  mere  prophet. 

Moreover,  at  a  time  when  the  study  of  other 
religions  is  so  common,  it  must  be  of  interest  to 
all  Christians  to  know  what  .two_  hundred  million 
Moslems  think  of  their  Lord  and  Saviour,  and  to 
compare  His  portrait  taken  from  the  Koran  and 
later  Moslem  literature  with  that  given  in  the 
Gospels. 

This  volume,  as  in  the  case  of  my  earlier  essay 
on  The  Moslem  Doctrine  of  God,  is  based  entirely 


INTRODUCTION  9 

on  the  Koran,  the  commentators,  and  orthodox 
tradition.  The  Koran  text  quoted  is  from 
Palmer's  translation  {Sacred  Books  of  the 
East,  vols.  vi.  and  ix.  Oxford,  1880),  together 
with  references  to  the  three  standard  commen- 
taries of  Beidhawi,  Zamakhshari,  and  Jellalain. 
For  Moslem  tradition  in  regard  to  Jesus  Christ, 
the  references  will  be  found  in  the  Bibliography, 
but  I  have  specially  used  a  standard  work  on  the 
subject,  and,  in  fact,  the  only  popular  work  I 
know  which  gives  a  connected  account  of  the 
life  of  Jesus  Christ  according  to  Moslem  sources, 
namely,  Kitab  Kusus  al  Anbiali  (also  called 
Al  'Ara'is),  by  Abu  Ishak  Ahmad  bin  Mohammed 
bin  Ibrahim  Eth-Thalabi,  a  doctor  of  theology  of 
the  Shafi  school,  who  died  427  a.h.  (a.d.  1036). 
Eth-Thalabi,  the  author  of  the  work  men- 
tioned, is  thus  described  in  Ibn  Khallikan's 
Dictionary  of  Biography  (vol.  i.  p.  22) :  "  He 
was  the  first  of  his  age  in  the  science  of 
interpretation,  and  wrote  the  great  commentary 
which  is  superior  to  many  others.  He  also  wrote 
the  book  called  Kusus-al-Anbiah  and  other 
books.  It  is  related  that  Abu  Kasim  el  Kashiri 
said,  'I  saw  the  Lord  Most  Mighty  in  a  dream, 
and  He  was  talking  with  me,  and  I  was  talking 


10  INTRODUCTION 

with  Him.  And  the  Lord  said,  "  The  man  of  good 
character  has  approached "  ;  and  I  looked  and, 
behold,  Eth-Thalabi  was  approaching.' "  His 
work  is  found  in  MS.  in  several  of  the  libraries 
of  Europe,  and  was  printed  at  Cairo,  1293, 1306, 
1308,  1310,  1325  a.h.,  and  at  Bombay,  1306  a.h. 
I  have  used  the  latest  Cairo  edition. 

I  have  also  compared  the  account  of  Jesus 
Christ  given  in  Bihle  de  V Islam  by  E.  Lam- 
airesse,  a  French  translation  of  Mirkhond's 
Rauzat-as-Safa  (Paris,  1894)  and  the  Arabic 
text  found  in  Akhhar  ad  Duwal  wa  AtJiar  al 
Awwal  by  the  historian  Abu  '1  'Abbas  al  Qara- 
mani,  who  was  born  in  a.d.  1532  and  died  1611. 
Neither  adds  much  to  the  fuller  biography  of 
Eth-Thalabi.  Except  for  C.  F.  Gerock's  Versuch 
einer  Darstellung  der  Christologie  des  Koran 
(Gotha,  1839),  and  a  more  recent  French  work, 
Jesus -Christ  d'apres  Mahomet  par  Edouard 
Sayous  (Paris,  1880),  both  limited  to  the  Koran 
and  not  giving  the  traditional  accounts,  I  do  not 
know  of  any  treatise  on  the  subject  in  the 
languages  of  the  West ;  nor  have  I  been  able  to 
trace  anywhere  in  Moslem  literature  a  monograph 
on  Jesus  Christ  as  the  last  of  the  prophets  be- 
fore Mohammed's  advent. 


INTRODUCTION  11 

The  question  may  well  be  raised  concerning 
the  sources  of  Mohammed's  information.  How 
and  from  whom  did  he  learn  of  Jesus  Christ? 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  condition  of 
Christianity  in  Arabia,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
he  came  in  contact  with  it  all  through  his  life.^ 
One  of  the  chief  stories  he  must  have  heard 
from  his  boyhood  days  was  that  of  the  Christian 
invasion  from  the  south  and  the  defeat  of 
Abraha's  troops.  Later  in  life  he  went  to 
Syria,  met  the  monks,  and  also  passed  through 
the  territory  of  the  Christian  tribes  in  north 
Arabia.  After  he  professed  to  be  a  prophet, 
his  favourite  concubine  was  Miriam,  a  Coptic 
Christian,  the  mother  of  his  darling  son  Ibrahim. 
In  addition  to  all  this,  Moslems  themselves 
admit  that  there  were  Christians  and  Jews  who 
assisted  Mohammed  and  instructed  him.  A 
recent  study  by  P.  L.  Cheikho,  entitled  Quelques 
Legendes  Islamiques  Apocryphes  (Beirut,  1910), 
enumerates  some  of  the  sources  to  which 
Mohammed  was  indebted  for  his  knowledge  of 
Christianity.  First  in  order,  he  states,  were 
his  contemporaries  Waraka  bin  Naufel,  Zobeir 
bin  'Amru,  Zaid,  and  Kaab.     The  author  also 

^  Wright's  Early  Christianity  in  Arabia  (London,  1855). 


12  INTRODUCTION 

speaks  of  a  book  called  Kitab  bin  Munabali, 
of  which  a  dozen  pages  were  recently  found  in 
a  collection  of  papyri.  According  to  Sprenger, 
the  man  who  his  countrymen  said  assisted 
Mohammed  in  writing  the  Koran,  was  a 
foreigner ;  for  Mohammed  himself  said  (Surah 
16  :  105),  "It  is  only  some  mortal  who  teaches 
him.  The  tongue  of  him  they  lean  towards 
is  barbarous,  and  this  is  plain  Arabic."  Sprenger 
says^  that  the  man  referred  to  was  "Addas, 
a  monk  of  Nineveh,  who  was  settled  at  Mecca." 
The  commentators  inform  us  further  that 
Mohammed  used  to  listen  to  Jaber  and  Yassar, 
two  sword  manufacturers  at  Mecca,  when  they 
read  the  Scriptures  ;  and  Ibn  Ishak  says  that 
he  had  intercourse  with  Ar-Rahman,  a  Christian 
of  Yamama.^  Koelle  goes  even  further  than 
Sprenger  in  indicating  the  sources  of  Mo- 
hammed's information.  He  says:  "Not  want 
of  opportunity,  but  want  of  sympathy  and 
compatibility  kept  him  aloof  from  the  religion 
of  Christ.  His  first  wife  introduced  him  to 
her  Christian  cousin ;  one  of  his  later  wives 
had   embraced   Christianity   in   Abyssinia,    and 

1  Si^renger's  Life  of  Mohammed  (Allahabad,  1851),  p.  99. 

2  Cf.  W.  St.  Clair  Tisdall,  The  Original  Sources  of  the  Qitran, 
(London,  1905),  pp.  136-179. 


INTRODUCTION  13 

the  most  favoured  of  his  concubines  was  a 
Christian  damsel  from  the  Copts  of  Egypt.  He 
was  acquainted  with  ascetic  monks,  and  had 
dealings  with  learned  bishops  of  the  Orthodox 
Church.  In  those  days  the  reading  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  in  the  public  services  was  already 
authoritatively  enjoined  and  universally  prac- 
tised ;  if  he  wished  thoroughly  to  acquaint 
himself  with  them,  he  could  easily  have  done 
so.  But,  having  no  adequate  conception  of  the 
nature  of  sin  and  man's  fallen  estate,  he  also 
lacked  the  faculty  of  truly  appreciating  the 
remedy  for  it  which  was  offered  in  the  Gospel."  ^ 
A  recent  critical  study  on  Mohammed's  sources 
for  his  knowledge  of  Christianity  and  the 
Christ,^  confirms  the  conclusions  reached  by 
Sprenger  and  others.  The  author  makes 
Harnack  his  starting-point,  who  shows  in  his 
History  of  Dogma  that  there  was  a  close 
and  striking  resemblance  between  the  teaching 
of  Jewish-Christian  gnosticism  and  that  of 
Mohammed.  He  questions,  however,  whether 
Mohammed  came  in  direct  contact  with  any  one 

^  S.  W.  Koelle,  Mohammed  and  Mohammedanism,  p.  471. 

^  V.  Neuschj  "  Miihammeds  Quellen  fiir  seine  Kenntnis  des 
Christentuins,"  in  Zeitschrift  fur  Missionskunde  und  Religions- 
vnssenschaft,  1910,  Heft  4,  p.  113. 


14  INTRODUCTION 

of  these  sects.  History  tells  us  that  Judaism 
found  an  early  entrance  into  Arabia,  and  we 
know  that  there  were  various  sects  of  Christianity 
represented,  but  we  know  of  the  preponderance 
of  none.  As  we  have  to  do  with  a  non -literary 
people,  we  cannot  assume  much  dogmatic 
knowledge.  Neusch  believes  that  none  of 
Mohammed's  teachers  were  prominent  enough 
or  definite  enough  in  their  knowledge  of 
Christianity  to  warrant  us  in  declaring  that 
he  was  dependent  on  them  alone  for  his  sources. 
If  Mohammed  could  read,  it  was  probably  late 
in  life  that  he  learned  the  art,  too  late  to  affect 
his  views  which  had  already  been  announced. 
His  conclusion  is  that  although  Harnack's 
opinion  is  in  general  correct,  we  must  not,  as 
is  so  often  done,  simply  declare  that  Mohammed 
was  dependent  on  the  Jewish-Christian  sects 
of  his  day.  We  must  remember  that  much  of 
the  present  dogma  of  Islam  is  much  later  than 
the  days  of  the  prophet.  As  regards  Moslem 
traditions  which  give  us  fuller  information  than 
the  Koran  itself,  Goldziher  has  shown  that 
these  were  largely  contributed  by  Christian 
renegades.^ 

1  Muhammedanische  Studien,  vol.  ii.  p.  268. 


INTRODUCTION  15 

There  are,  of  course,  many  references  to  Jesus 
in  later  Moslem  literature,  and  the  present-day- 
philosophical  disintegration  of  Islam  not  only 
as  regards  its  dogma,  but  its  ethical  teaching, 
has  compelled  Moslems  anew  to  consider  the 
fact  of  the  Christ.  These  reform  movements 
and  re-adjustments  of  Moslem  teaching  to 
modern  conditions,  as  voiced  by  the  progressive 
press  and  the  new  Islam  on  the  one  hand,  or 
the  sects  that  sprang  from  Islam,  the  Babis,  the 
Beha'is,  and  the  followers  of  the  late  Mirza 
Quadian,  on  the  other,  have,  however,  scarcely 
touched  the  fringe  of  public  opinion  among  the 
masses.  This  book  tells  of  Jesus  Christ  as 
known  (if  known  at  all)  by  the  vast  majority 
of  Moslems,  whether  learned  or  illiterate. 

.  SAMUEL  M.   ZWEMER. 

Bahrein,  Arabia,  \ 
(         March  1912.       • 


Note. — The  Ciific  inscription  on  the  cover-design  is  from  an 
old  manuscript,  and  reads  :  "In  the  name  of  God  the  Merciful 
and  Compassionate."  May  Moslems  soon  learn  of  His  mercy 
as  revealed  in  the  Christ. 


"  Le  musulman  proclame  qn'il  y  a  un  livre  plus  recent 
que  I'Evangile  et  superieur  a  lui,  le  Goran  ;  il  proclame 
que  six  siecles  apres  Jesus-Christ  est  venu  un  prophete 
inferieur  ii  quelques  egards,  notamment  parsa  naissance, 
mais  moralement  et  religieusement  superieur,  Mahomet. 
C'est  celui-la  le  Maitre,  et  Jesus,  n'est  qu'-ww  maitre. 
Aussi  regardons  nous  I'lslamisme  comma  una  des  trois 
grandes  religions  monotheistes,  h  part  des  deux  autres 
mais  non  pas  independante,  car  sans  elles  jamais  elle 
n'aurait  existe."  —  Edouakd  Sayous  {Jdsus  -  Christ 
d'apres  Mahom4t). 


16 


CONTENTS 


CHAP.  PAOB 

Introduction 7 


I.  His  Names  and  Their  Significance  ...  23 
Importance  of  names  in  the  Orient— The  name  'Isa — Its 
use  in  the  Koran — El  Messih — The  Word  of  God — 
Spirit  from  God — The  title  of  Prophet — Qualifications 
of  a  prophet — The  apostles  and  their  special  titles — The 
derivation  of  the  word  "Isa — of  Messih — The  homeless- 
ness  of  Jesus — Why  is  He  called  the  Word  of  God  ? — 
Two  other  epithets. 

II.  The   Koran    Account  of    His  Life,    Death,  and 

Translation 41 

Three  difficulties  at  the  outset  because  of  the  character 
of  the  Koran,  its  contradictions  and  its  lack  of  chrono- 
logical order — The  Annunciation  of  Jesus — His  birth — 
His  miracles — His  mission  and  message — His  death, 
which  is  both  affirmed  and  denied — His  character  as  an 
apostle  and  prophet,  including  denial  of  His  deity — 
The  meagreness  of  the  Koran  account  supplemented  by 
tradition  —  Its  authority  among  Moslems — Sources  of 
Moslem  tradition  on  the  Christ — Their  reliability. 

III.  Jesus  Christ  according   to   Tradition,  from  His 

Birth  to  His  Public  Ministry     ....        59 
A  translation  of  Eth-Thalabi's  account,  which  is  based 
on  early  tradition — The  birth  of  Jesus — Gabriel  as  the 
messenger — Mary  the  sister  of  Aaron — Jesus  speaks  from 
the  cradle — The  departure  of  Mary  and  Jesus  to  Egypt — 

2        6 


18  CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAGE 

Jesus  amazes  His  teacher  at  school — On  the  form  and 
figure  of  Jesus  —  Concerning  the  signs  and  wonders 
wrought  by  His  hand  in  His  youth — The  blind  man  and 
the  lame  man — The  marriage  of  the  ruler's  son — Jesus 
and  His  playmates — He  provides  food  miraculously — 
He  raises  a  boy  from  the  dead — Dyes  garments  various 
colours  from  one  vat — Concerning  the  return  of  Mary 
and  Jesus  after  the  death  of  Herod — His  precocity — His 
prayer  for  the  sick. 

IV.  Jesus  Christ  according  to  Tradition,  from  His 

Public  Ministry  to  His  Second  Coming  .  .  79 
The  story  of  Jesus'  disciples — Their  names  and  their 
call — The  special  characteristics  of  Jesus  and  His 
miracles — How  He  created  birds  from  clay — His  miracles 
of  healing — The  raising  of  Lazarus — Of  the  widow's  son 
— The  daughter  of  the  toll-gatherer — The  raising  of  Shem, 
Noah's  son — Of  Ezra — His  knowledge  of  secrets — His 
walking  on  the  water — Other  traditions  concerning 
Jesus  Christ — The  story  of  the  loaf — The  sending  down 
of  the  table — Different  versions  of  this  story — How 
Jesus  was  taken  to  heaven— The  attempt  to  kill  Jesus — 
The  crucifixion  of  another  in  His  stead  — The  Last 
Supper — The  disciples  asleep  in  the  garden — The  binding 
of  Jesus — The  death  of  Jesus,  but  not  on  the  cross — The 
story  of  Mary  Magdalene— The  disciples  are  scattered 
to  preach  the  Gospel — The  ascension  of  Jesus — His 
return — His  grave  at  Medina — A  later  account  of  the 
trial  of  Jesus. 

V.  The  Person  and  Character  of  Jesus  Christ  .  113 
Where  the  Koran  falls  short  in  its  Christology — This 
negative  as  well  as  affirmative  —  Christ's  deity  and 
sonship  denied  —  He  is  a  mere  man  —  The  pre-exist- 
ence  of  Mohammed  affirmed  ;  that  of  Jesus  denied — 
"Why  Islam  denies  the  Atonement — Modern  antagonism 
in  Egypt  to  Christian  doc  trine— Some  puzzling  questions 
put  by  Moslems— Seyy id  Ameer  'Ali  on  the  divinity  of 


CONTENTS  19 

FAOa 

Christ— What  Moslems  admit  and  ])elieve  as  regards  the 
dignity  and  purity  of  Jesus — His  titles  of  honour — His 
sinlessness  —  A  remarkable  tradition  —  Christ  as  the 
healer  and  worker  of  miracles— He  is  a  living  prophet 
and  can  intercede — Jesus  Christ  announced  the  coming 
of  Mohammed— Other  alleged  prophecies  in  regard  to 
Islam. 


VI.  His  Teaching 135 

Meagreness  of  our  sources — No  direct  quotations  from 
the  New  Testament — Four  references  to  its  teaching — 
To  whom  did  Jesus  Christ  come  as  a  teacher — The 
Gospel  according  to  Moslems — Its  corruption  hy  the 
apostles,  especially  Paul — The  story  of  Habib  the 
carpenter — Later  tradition  on  the  teaching  of  Jesus — 
Certain  of  His  sayings — Jesus  Christ  according  to  the 
poets — The  parable  of  the  Publican  and  the  Pharisee — 
The  gentleness  of  Jesus — Words  of  Jesus  which  are  attri- 
buted to  Mohammed— The  Lord's  Prayer— Conclusion. 


VII.  Jesus  Christ  supplanted  by  Mohammed  .  .  155 
Jesus  Christ  eclipsed— Mohammed  in  the  foreground  ; 
Jesus  Christ  in  the  background— This  distinguishes 
Islam  from  all  other  religions  —  In  what  sense  is 
Mohammed  the  Moslem  Christ— His  two  hundred  and 
one  titles  of  honour— Prayer  for  Mohammed— The  later 
biographies  of  Mohammed  a  caricature  of  the  Christ — 
Testimony  of  Rene  Basset  and  Dr.  Koelle — Mohammed's 
journey  to  heaven — How  Mohammed  resembled  Jesus  in 
his  birth,  his  life,  his  miracles,  his  death — Isaiah's 
prophecy  of  Mohammed — Mohammed  the  supplanter — 
Christmas,  or  the  birthday  of  Mohammed  ;  Friday  or 
Sunday — The  name  Messiah  as  applied  to  Mohammed 
in  current  literature,  in  the  Gospel  of  Barnabas — Islam 
anti-Christian — Islam  in  no  sense  a  preparation  for 
Christianity — Christ  the  centre  of  our  religion — What 
Moslems  think  of  Him. 


20  CONTENTS 

CHAP,  PAGE 

VIII.  How  TO   Preach   Christ  to    Moslems  who   know 

Jesus 177 

"Why  we  should  do  it — The  Moslem  world  needs  Jesus 
Christ — Testimony  of  Dr.  James  S.  Dennis — Difficulties 
do  not  remove  responsibility — Islam  itself  a  witness  to 
their  need  of  the  Christ — The  fact  of  the  Christ  a  point 
of  vital  contact  with  Moslems  —  We  must  become 
Moslems  to  the  Moslem — The  nearest  way  to  the  Moslem 
heart — The  message  of  the  Cross — What  think  ye  of  the 
Christ — The  strength  of  Islam  overestimated — Back 
to  Mohammed  and  away  from  tradition — The  revival 
of  Islam — What  Christianity  will  gain  by  preaching  to 
Moslems — A  stronger  grip  on  the  fundamentals — A 
theology  based  on  experience — A  conviction  that  XJni- 
tarianism  is  not  Christianity — The  Nicene  Creed. 

Bibliography 195 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTEATIONS 

(1)  The  Prophet's  Mosque  at  Medina       .         .         .  Frontis2nece 

(2)  Plan  of  the  Prophet's  Mosque  at  Medina   .         Facing  p.  108 

(3)  Letter  from  Chinese  Moslem      ....,,        116 

(4)  Page  from  Moslem  Book  of  Devotion  .         .       ,,        156 

(5)  List  of  Names  in  Arabic  applied  to  God  and  to 

Mohammed ,,        160 


I 

HIS  NAMES  AND  THEIK  SIGNIFICANCE 


' '  The  Christ  of  History  brings  the  cardinal  problem 
of  religion  down  from  the  clouds  of  speculation  to  the 
world  of  hard  and  prosaic  and  determinable  facts,  and 
that  is  a  dangerous  place  for  either  things  or  persons  to 
stand  who  are  not  what  they  seem.  Criticism  must 
handle  and  speak  of  all  who  stand  there,  the  more 
strenuously  if  they  make  extraordinary  claims  on  the 
faith  and  reverence  of  all  men  and  times  ;  and  the  now 
white,  now  lurid  lights  it  creates  enable  those  piercing 
and  pitiless  eyes  that  love  to  see  the  distant  past  un- 
bury  its  dread  secrets  and  make  confession  of  its  for- 
gotten crimes,  to  search  the  period  or  person  on  which 
they  fall.  That  Jesus  Christ  has  so  long  stood  amid 
those  burning  lights  and  before  these  curious  eyes  tells 
an  eloquent  tale  of  the  quality  of  His  person  and  the 
reality  of  His  character.  The  love  of  earth  has  looked 
at  Him  till  it  has  grown  Divine,  the  thought  of  man  has 
studied  Him  till  it  has  become  reverent.  The  coldest 
criticism  is  touched  with  reverence  when  it  stands  before 
the  supreme  Person  of  history,  finding  Him  to  be  also 
the  supreme  Good  of  man." — A.  M.  Fairbaihn  {^The 
City  of  God). 


HIS  NAMES  AND  THEIR  SIGNIFICANCE 

AMONG  all  Orientals,  but  especially  among  the 
Semites,  a  deep  significance  is  attached  to 
names.  This  is  evident  not  only  from  the  Bible, 
but  from  the  practice  among  the  Arabs  of  to-day. 
Names,  surnames,  nicknames,  and  appellatives  are 
bestowed  upon  men  and  places  with  the  intent  of 
expressing  the  very  character  of  the  person  or  thing 
named.  In  considering,  therefore,  the  teaching  of 
the  Koran  and  Moslem  tradition  concerning  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  we  begin  first  of  all  by  mentioning 
the  names  that  are  applied  to  Him  in  Mohammed's 
Book,  and  that  are  therefore  those  most  commonly 
used  among  Moslems.  In  fact,  it  would  be  quite 
inadmissible  for  an  orthodox  Moslem  to  use  any 
other  terms  in  relation  to  Jesus  Christ  than  those 
used  in  the  Koran.  We  give  the  names  in  the 
order  of  their  importance  and  the  frequency  of  their 
usage. 

'ISA  (Jesus).  This  name,  the  most  commonly  used 
among  Moslems,  generally  with  the  prefix  Nehi 
(prophet)     and     often    with    the    addition    "  Son    of 

23 


24  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

Mary,"  is  used  twenty-five  times   in   the  Koran,  as 
follows : — 

„.  Surah   2:81.    We   gave   Moses   the   Book   and  we 
\Xiollowed  him  up  with   other   apostles,   and   we   gave 
Jesus  the  son  of  Mary  manifest  signs  and  aided  him 
with  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Surah    2:130.   Say  ye,  "We  believe   in   God,  and 
/^what  has  been  revealed  to  us,  and  what  has  been  re- 
vealed to  Abraham,  and  Ishmael,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
and  the  Tribes,  and  what  was  brought  to  Moses  and 
Jesusr 
,  Surah  2  :  254.  And  we  have  given  Jesus  the  son  of 
i     Mary  manifest   signs   and   strengthened   him   by  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

Surah  3:40.  When  the  angel  said,  "0  Mary! 
verily  God  gives  thee  the  glad  tidings  of  a  Word 
from  him;  his  name  shall  be  Messiah  Jesus  the  son 
of  Mary,  regarded  in  this  world  and  the  next  and  of 
those  whose  place  is  nigh  to  God." 

Surah  3  :  45.   And  when  Jesus  perceived  their  un- 
'^-'"'belief,  he  said,  "  Who  are  my  helpers  for  God  ? " 

Surah  3:48.  When  God  said,  "0  Jesusl  I  will 
make  thee  die  and  take  thee  up  again  to  me,  and 
will  clear  thee  of  those  who  misbelieve,  and  will 
make  those  who  follow  thee  above  those  who  mis- 
believe, at  the  day  of  judgment,  then  to  me  is  your 
return." 

Surah  3  :  52.  Verily  the  likeness  of  Jesus  with  God 
i&  as  the  likeness  of  Adam. 


HIS  NAMES  AND  THEIR  SIGNIFICANCE    25 

Surah  3  :  78.    Say,  "  We  believe  in  God,  and  what 

has  been  revealed  to  thee,  and  what  was  revealed  to 

(.^^Abraham,   and   Ishmael,   and   Isaac,   and   Jacob,   and 

the  tribes,  and  what  was  given  to  Moses  and  Jesus 

and  the  prophets  from  their  Lord." 

Surah  4  :  156.  Their  saying,  "Verily,  we  have  killed 
the  Messiah,  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary,  the  apostle  of 
God,"  .  .  .  but  they  did  not  kill  him. 

Surah  4:161.   Verily,  we  have  inspired  thee  as  we 
L^nspired  Abraham,  and  Ishmael,  and  Jacob,  and  the 
tribes,  and  Jesus. 

Surah  4 :  169.  The  Messiah,  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary, 
\y^  but  the  apostle  of  God  and  His  Word,  which  He 
cast  into  Mary  and  a  spirit  from  Him. 

Surah  5  :  50.  And  we  followed  up  the  footsteps  of 
«.  these  (prophets)  with  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary,  confirming 
that  which  was  before  him  and  the  law. 

Surah  5  :  82.  Those  of  the  children  of  Israel  who 
disbelieved  were  cursed  by  the  tongue  of  David  and 
Jesus  the  son  of  Mary. 

Surah  5  :  109.    When  God   said,  "  0  Jesus,  son   of 
^Mary  !  remember  my  favours  towards  thee  and  towards 
V    thy  mother." 

Surah  5:112.  When  the  apostles  said,  "  0  Jesus, 
son  of  Mary !  is  thy  Lord  able  to  send  down  to  us  a 
table  from  heaven  ? " 

Surah  5  :  114.  Said  Jesus,  the  son  of  Mary,  "  0  God, 
our  Lord !  send  down  to  us  a  table  from  heaven  to  be 
to  us  as  a  festival.  .  .  ." 


26  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

Surah  5:116.  And  when  God  said,  "0  Jesus,  son 
of  Mary !  is  it  thou  who  didst  say  to  men,  take  me 
and  my  mother  for  two  gods,  beside  God  ? " 

Surah   6  :  85.    And  Zachariah  and  John  and  Jesus 
"'   and  Elias,  all  righteous  ones. 

Surah  19  :  35.  That  is,  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary, — by 
the  word  of  truth  whereon  ye  do  dispute. 

Surah  33  : 7.   And  when  we  took  of   the   prophets 
l^^their  compact,  from  thee  and  from  Noah,  and  Abraham, 
and  Moses,  and  Jesics  the  son  of  Mary  .  .  .  that  He 
might  ask  the  truth-tellers  of  their  truth. 

Surah  42  :  11.  He  has  enjoined  upon  you  for  religion 

what  He  prescribed  to  Noah,  and  what  we  inspired 

^thee  with,  and  what  we  inspired  Abraham  and  Moses 

and  Jesus. 

.Surah  43:  63.  And  when  Jesus  came  with  manifest 

t^^  signs  he  said,  "  I  am  come  to  you  with  wisdom,  and  I 

will  explain  to   you   something   of   that   whereon   ye 

did  dispute,  then  fear  God,  obey  me.  .  .  ." 

Surah  57  :  27.  And  we  followed  them  up  with  Jesus 
'   the  son  of  Mary ;  and  we  gave  him  the  gospel. 

Surah  61  : 6.    And    when   Jesus   the   son   of   Mary 
)    ^Siid,  "  0  children  of  Israel !  verily,  I  am  the  apostle 
of  God." 

Surah  6  :  14.  0  ye  who  believe !  be  ye  the  helpers 
I    -  of  God !  as  Jesus,  son  of  Mary,  said  to  the  apostles, 
"  Who  are  my  helpers  for  God  ? " 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  among  these  twenty-five 
places  in  the  Koran  where  'Isa  is  used,  in  sixteen  of 


HIS  NAMES  AND  THEIR  SIGNIFICANCE    27 

them  He  is  called  the  son  of  Mary,  and  in  five 
passages  His  name  is  coupled  with  Moses  (Musa), 
the  great  prophet  of  the  old  Dispensation.  Isidor 
Loewenthal,  who  was  a  Semitic  scholar  and  a  mis- 
sionary on  the  Afghan  frontier,  thought  that  the 
coupling  of  the  name  of  Jesus  with  that  of  Moses 
in  the  Koran  might  be  the  reason  for  the  form  of 
the  name,  to  correspond  with  other  rhymes  of  that 
character;  e.g.,  Harut  and  Marut,  Habil  and  Kabil, 
etc.^  Of  the  etymology  and  significance  of  this  name, 
however,  we  will  speak  later. 

El  Messih. — This  name,  The  Messiah,  sometimes 
joined  to  that  of  Jesus  and  sometimes  used  by  itself, 
occurs  in  the  Koran  eight  times  in  the  following 
passages : — 

Surah  3  :  40.     See  above. 

Surah  4  :  156.     See  above. 

Surah  4  :  169.     See  above. 

Surah  4 :  170.  The  Messiah  doth  surely  not  disdain 
to  be  a  servant  of  God,  nor  do  the  angels  who  are  nigh 
to  Him;  and  whosoever  disdains  His  service  and  is 
too  proud.  He  will  gather  them  altogether  to  Himself. 

Surah  5 :  19.  They  misbelieve  who  say,  "  Verily 
God  is  the  Messiah  the  son  of  Mary ; "  say,  "  Who  has 
any  hold  on  God,  if  he  wish-ed  to  destroy  the  Messiah 
the  son  of  Mary,  and  his  mother,  and  those  who  are 
on  the  earth  altogether  ? "  ^ 

'  Loewenthal,  Isidor.  The  Name  'Isa  :  An  Investigation.  Calcutta, 
1861.     Reprirted  in  The  Moslem  Woi'ld  (London),  vol.  i.  No,  3. 


28  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

Surah  5  :  76.  They  misbelieve  who  say,  "  Verily,  God 
is  the  Messiah  the  son  of  Mary;"  but  the  Messiah 
said,  "  0  children  of  Israel !  worship  God,  my  Lord 
and  your  Lord." 

Surah  5  :  79.  The  Messiah  the  son  of  Mary  is  only 
a  prophet :  prophets  before  him  have  passed  away ; 
and  his  mother  was  a  confessor ;  they  both  used  to 
eat  food. 

Surah  9 :  30.  The  Jews  say  Ezra  is  the  son  of 
God,  and  the  Christians  say  that  the  Messiah  is  the 
son  of  God ;  that  is  what  they  say  with  their  mouths, 
imitating  the  sayings  of  those  who  misbelieved  before. 
God  fight  them  !  how  they  lie  !  ^ 

In  one  of  the  passages  above  quoted  (Surah  4  :  170) 
there  seems  to  be  a  reference  to  the  title  of  the  Messiah 
in  Isaiah  as  the  servant  of  Jehovah.  Mohammed  may 
have  learned  of  this  name  from  the  Jews,  although 
Surah  9  :  30  (see  above)  seems  to  indicate  very  clearly 
that  the  title  of  the  Messiah  was  coupled  in  the 
mouth  of  Christians  with  the  words  the  Son  of  God, 
It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  both  names  were  learned 

^  Palmer's  comment  on  this  curious  passage  is  as  follows:  "The 
Moslem  tradition  is  that  Ezra,  after  being  dead  a  hundred  years,  was 
raised  to  life,  and  dictated  from  memory  the  whole  of  the  Jewish 
Scriptures  which  had  been  lost  during  the  captivity,  and  that  the 
Jews  said  he  could  not  have  done  this  unless  he  had  been  the 
son  of  God.  There  is  no  Jewish  tradition  whatever  in  support  of 
this  accusation  of  Mohammed's,  which  probably  was  entirely  due 
to  his  own  invention  or  to  misinformation.  Baidhawi,  the  well- 
known  commentator,  says  that  it  must  have  been  true,  because  the 
Jews  themselves,  to  whom  the  passage  was  read,  did  not  deny  it." 


HIS  NAMES  AND  THEIR  SIGNIFICANCE    29 

from  the  lips  of  Christians  rather  than  from  those  of 
the  Jews,  and  we  are  confirmed  in  this  belief  by  the 
use  of  the  third  name  in  the  Koran,  namely,  the  Word 
of  God. 

Kalimet  Allah  (The  Word  of  God). — This  is  used 
in  the  Koran  twice  in  direct  reference  to  Christ.  In 
other  passages  it  occurs,  but  not  as  one  of  the  names 
of  the  Messiah.  In  the  following  cases  the  reference 
is  clear : — 

Surah  3  :  40.     See  above. 

Surah  4  :  169.     See  above. 

In  these  two  passages  Jesus  Christ  is  clearly 
referred  to  as  the  Word  of  God  and  as  a  Word  from 
God;  and  modern  Arabic  usage  clearly  distinguishes 
between  the  Word  of  God  in  the  sense  of  Holy  Writ, 
which  is  always  referred  to  as  Kaldm  Allah,  and  the 
Word  of  God  as  His  Messenger,  which  is  Kalimet 
Allah.  There  are,  however,  only  these  two  passages 
in  which  this  New  Testament  title  is  given  to  our 
Saviour. 

The  title  given  to  Moses  is  Kalim  Allah,  and  the 
common  explanation  is  that  Moses  was  the  mouth- 
piece of  God  in  the  sense  that  God  spake  to  him,  and 
made  him  His  special  confidant;  but  Jesus  is  the 
Kalimet  Allah,  or  Word  of  God,  because  He  communi- 
cates God's  word,  God's  will  to  men. 

RuH  Allah  (Spirit  of  God,  or  more  correctly. 
Spirit  from  God). — This  title  is  used  in  the  Koran 
once   concerning   Jesus    Christ  (Surah  4 :  169,  quoted 


30  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

above),  but  the  commentators  are  not  agreed  as  to  its 
real  significance,  and  whether  it  is  a  name  that  can  be 
applied  to  Jesus  Christ,  or  whether  the  passage  simply 
signifies  that  Jesus,  with  all  other  mortals,  was  par- 
taker of  the  creative  Spirit  of  God. 

In  addition  to  these  four  names  which  are  specially 
applied  to  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Koran,  He  is  also 
know  by  the  common  titles  of  NoM  (prophet)  and 
Basul  (apostle). 

Surah  19  :  30  (Where  Jesus  speaks  from  the  cradle, 
using  these  words),  Verily,  I  am  the  servant  of  God, 
He  has  brought  me  the  Book,  and  He  has  made  me  a 
prophet,  and  He  has  made  me  blessed  wherever  I  be. 

Surah  57  :  27.     See  above. 

Surah  4:169.     See  above. 

The  number  of  prophets  and  apostles  sent  by  God, 
according  to  Moslem  teaching,  amounts  to  124,000. 
Others  say  240,000,  and  others  100,000.  These  state- 
ments show  that  the  words,  prophet  and  apostle,  in 
Moslem  usage  have  not  the  same  dignity,  which 
we  infer  from  their  usage  in  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments.  Three  hundred  and  thirteen  are  said  to 
have  been  apostles  who  came  with  a  special  mission. 
A  prophet,  according  to  Moslem  teaching,  is  a  man 
inspired  by  God,  but  not  sent  with  a  special  dis- 
pensation or  book ;  while  an  apostle  is  one  who  comes 
either  with  a  special  dispensation  or  to  whom  a 
special  book  has  been  revealed.  All  apostles  are 
prophets,  but   not   all   prophets   are   apostles.     Jesus 


HIS  NAMES  AND  THEIR  SIGNIFICANCE    31 

was  both.  According  to  the  commentators  this  is 
the  definition  of  a  prophet:  "A  prophet  must  be  a 
male  ^  person,  free,  not  a  slave,  of  the  sons  of  Adam ; 
of  sound  mind  and  without  bodily  defect  or  disease, 
to  whom  has  been  revealed  a  revelation  which  he 
himself  accepts;  nor  must  he  come  with  a  message 
before  he  is  of  age."  ^ 

The  qualifications  of  a  prophet  are  four : — 

1.  Faitlif Illness, — That  is,  during  his  work  as  a 
prophet  he  is  kept  from  the  commission  of  any  out- 
ward sinful  act.  The  sinlessness  of  all  the  prophets 
has  become  a  favourite  dogma  of  Islam,  in  spite  of 
the  Koran  testimony  regarding  the  sins  of  many  of 
the  prophets,  including  Mohammed  himself. 

2.  Truthfulness. — They  speak  the  truth  in  accord- 
ance with  the  real  state  of  the  case,  or  at  all  events, 
in  accordance  with  what  they  believe  to  be  the  truth. 

3.  Sagacity,  or  intelligence,  enabling  them  to  silence 
objectors  or  opponents.  This  quality  the  apostles 
are  said  to  possess  in  much  higher  degree  than  the 
prophets. 

4.  The  Delivery  of  their  Message. — In  other  words, 
they  must  on  no  account  conceal  what  God  has 
revealed  to  them. 

Because  Jesus  Christ  was  an  apostle  and  a  prophet 

^  Maryam,  Eve,  and  Sarah  are  admitted  by  some  Moslems  among 
the  list  of  prophets,  but  it  is  contrary  to  the  teaching  of  the  leading 
commentators.  Cf.  El  Jowhara,  "No  female  ever  was  a  proi)het  " 
(Klein,  Religion  of  Islam,  p.  74). 

-  El  Jowhara,  quoted  in  Klein,  The  Edition  of  Islam,  p.  72. 


32  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

He  also  had  the  power  of  working  miracles,  as  we  shall 
see  in  a  later  chapter. 

In  order  to  understand  the  title  prophet  and  apostle 
ascribed  to  Jesus,  we  must  remember  that  the  highest 
in  rank  among  the  prophets  and  apostles  is  said  to  be 
Mohammed.  He  is  considered  not  only  the  greatest 
prophet  and  apostle,  but  the  most  excellent  of  all 
created  things.  After  him  come  Abraham,  Moses, 
and  Jesus.  These  four  are  distinguished  by  the 
title, '  Ulu-el-^ Azim,  possessors  of  constancy  or  endowed 
with  a  purpose.  This  name  was  taken  from  Surah 
46 :  34.  "  Then  do  thou  be  patient  as  the  apostles 
endowed  with  a  purpose  were  patient,  and  hastened 
not  on  their  punishment."  Six  of  the  company  of  the 
prophets  are  classed  apart  by  Moslems  and  said  to 
have  brought  in  new  dispensations  and  a  new  law, 
and  they  therefore  have  each  of  them  a  special  title. 

Adam :  Safi  Allah  (Chosen  of  God) ;  Noah :  Nehi 
Allah  (prophet  of  God) ;  Abraham :  Khalil  Allah  (the 
friend  of  God) ;  Moses  :  Kalim  Allah  (the  mouthpiece 
of  God) ;  Jesus,  Buh  Allah  (Spirit  of  God) ;  Mohammed, 
Basul  Allah  (the  apostle  of  God).  It  is  clear  from  the 
above  and  at  the  very  outset  of  our  investigation  that 
Jesus  Christ  does  not  occupy  the  supreme  place,  but 
at  the  best  ranks  only  with  Abraham,  Moses,  and 
Mohammed. 

We  turn  now  to  consider  what  significance  is 
attached  to  the  proper  names  given  by  Moslems  to  our 
Lord,  both  as  regards  their  form  and  their  etymology. 


HIS  NAMES  AND  THEIR  SIGNIFICANCE    33 

The  question  why  Mohammed  used  the  word  * Isa 
instead  of  Yesu'a,  is  more  easily  asked  than  answered. 
It  is  a  stumbling-block  to  every  Moslem  convert  who 
reads  the  Arabic  Scriptures.  Kamil  Abd  ul  Messiah, 
writing  to  Dr.  Jessup  from  Aden  after  his  conversion 
to  Christianity,  says  :  "  Will  you  kindly  send  me  a 
reply  to  this  question  :  Why  is  Jesus  styled  'Isa  in  the 
Moslem  books,  and  did  this  name  exist  among  the 
Arabs  before  Mohammed's  time  during  the  days  of 
Ignorance  ? "  ^ 

Dr.  Jessup  in  his  reply  called  attention  to  some  of 
the  explanations  given.  The  first  among  them  is  that 
there  is  no  particular  significance  in  the  form  of  the 
word,  and  that  Mohammed  invented  it  as  a  rhyming 
couplet  to  the  name  of  Moses  (Musa),  in  the  same 
way  as  he  changed  the  name  of  Goliath  to  Jalut,  and 
that  of  Saul  to  Talut,  apparently  as  a  matter  of 
rhythm,  in  the  second  chapter  of  the  Koran  (verses 
248-253);  and  the  names  of  the  sons  of  Adam  to 
Habil  and  Kabil  in  Moslem  usage  for  Cain  and  Abel ; 
or  as  he  used  the  fanciful  names,  Harut  and  Marut,  for 
the  names  of  angels  who  taught  men  sorcery  (Surah 
2  :  96).  The  difficulty  with  this  theory  is,  as  we  have 
seen,  that  only  in  five  cases  is  the  name  'Isa  joined  to 
that  of  Musa  in  the  Koran  text.  In  every  other  case 
there  is  no  apparent  reason  for  this  particular  form  of 
the  word  because  of  the  rhythm. 

A  second  explanation  given  by  some  Arabic  lexico- 

^  Jessup,  Rev.  H.  H.,  Kamil,  p.  122.     Philadelphia,  1898. 
3 


34  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

graphers  is  that  the  word  has  been  deliberately  formed 
by  inverting  the  order  of  the  letters  in  the  Hebrew 
word  Yesu'a.  This  explanation  seems  forced  ;  nor  can 
it  be  satisfactorily  explained  by  the  laws  of  etymology, 
for  in  reversing  the  letters  not  only  are  the  vowels 
altered,  but  one  of  the  weak  consonants  must  be 
changed  in  Yesto'a  to  make  'Isa.  Beidhawi  in  his 
Commentary  asserts  that  'Isa  is  the  Arabic  form  of 
the  Hebrew  Yesu'a,  and  goes  on  to  say  that  it  comes 
from  a  root  Al-'Ayos,  which  signilies  white  mingled 
with  red.^ 

A  fourth  explanation  is  offered  by  Dr.  Otto  Pautz.^ 
"  The  Koran  expression  'Isa  corresponds  with  the 
Hebrew  Esau,  the  name  of  the  brother  of  Jacob 
(Israel).  Because  his  descendants  all  .through  their 
history  stood  hostile  over  against  the  Israelities,  who 
were  the  people  of  the  promise,  the  later  Jews  cari- 
catured the  name  of  Jesus  by  making  it  Esau. 
Mohammed  took  this  form  of  Esau  from  the  Jews  at 
Medina,  without  being  conscious  of  the  sinister  import 
connected  with  the  name  in  their  minds."  We  would 
like  further  proofs  of  this  ingenious  theory  before  ac- 
cepting it,  although  it  appears  most  plausible  in  view 

^  Beidhawi,  vol.  i.  p.  96.  He  also  gives  a  curious,  but  unchaste, 
derivation  for  the  name  of  Jesus'  mother,  Mary  :  ''  Hooa  hil  AraUya 
onin  el  nisa  Tea  el  zir  min  er  rijal,  etc.''  On  the  derivation  of  'ha,  cf. 
Fairozabadi's  Kamoos,  vol.  i.  p.  125,  and  Katr  ul  Muhit  (Beirut), 
vol.  ii.  p.  1478.     And  on  Zir^  vol.  i.  p.  874. 

'•^  Pautz,  Otto.  Muhammed's  Lchre  von  der  Offcnlarung,  p.  191. 
Leipzig,  1898. 


HIS  NAMES  AND  THEIR  SIGNIFICANCE    35 

of  all  that  Mohammed   borrowed   and  adapted  from 
Judaism.^ 

In  regard  to  the  name  El  Messili,  although  this 
term  is  evidently  taken  from  the  Hebrew  and  has  the 
Hebrew  significance  of  the  anointed,  the  Moslems 
explain  it  difterently.  Bringing  everything  back  to 
Arabic  roots,  they  connect  it  with  the  word  SaJi  (to 
wander,  to  go  on  pilgrimage),  and  say  it  is  the  intensive 
form  of  that  root,  and  that  Jesus  was  the  leader  of 
wanderers,  "  Imam  al  sa'yihin."  The  homelessness  of 
Jesus  has  alwa3^s  strongly  impressed  itself  on  the 
Mohammedan  imagination.  C.  H.  A.  Field  relates :  ^ 
Once  on  entering  a  Pathan  village,  I  was  met  by  a 
youth  who  asked,  "  Is  this  verse  in  the  Injil :  *  The 
Son  of  Mary  had  nowhere  to  lay  His  head '  ?  "  In  the 
Kusus-al-anhiya  (Stories  of  the  Prophets)  this  takes 
the  following  grotesque  shape  : — 

One  day  Jesus  saw  a  fox  roaming  tlirougli  the  wilderness. 
He  said  to  liim,  "  O  fox  !  whither  art  thou  going  ? "  The  fox 
answered,  "  I  hav^e  come  out  for  exercise  ;  now  I  am  returning 
to  my  own  home."  Jesus  said,  "  Every  one  has  Luilt  himself 
a  house  ;  l3ut  for  Me  there  is  no  resting-place."  Some  people 
who  heard  it  said,  "  We  are  sorry  for  Thee,  and  will  build  Thee 
a  house."  He  replied,  "  I  have  no  money."  They  answered, 
"  We  will  pay  all  the  expenses."  Then  He  said,  "Very  well,  I 
will  clioose  the  site."  He  led  them  down  to  the  edge  of  the  sea 
and,  pointing  where  the  waves  were  dashing  highest,  said,  "Build 
Me  a  house  there."     The  people  said,    "  That  is  the   sea,   O 

^  Geiger,  Abraham,  Judaisvi  and  Islam.     Madras,  1898  ;   JVas  hat 
Mohammed  aus  dcm  Judenthume  aufyeno'tnmen  ?    Bonn,  1833. 
-  Church  Missionary  Eevieic,  July  1910. 


36  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

Prophet!  how  can  we  build  there?"  "Yea,  and  is  not  the 
world  a  sea,"  He  answered,  "  on  which  no  one  can  raise  a  build- 
ing that  abides  ? " 

A  similar  echo  of  Christ's  words  is  found  in  the  famous 
inscription  over  a  bridge  at  Fatehpur  Sikri :  "  Jesus 
(upon  whom  be  peace)  said,  'The  world  is  a  bridge; 
pass  over  it,  but  do  not  build  upon  it.' "  ^ 

Although  this  explanation  of  the  word  which 
Moslems  have  generally  adopted  is  ingenious,  it  is 
evidently  an  attempt  to  escape  from  the  ordinary 
significance  of  the  root.  Even  in  his  Arabic  dictionary 
Fairozabadi  gives  the  name  Messih  under  the  Arabic 
root  Masaha,  to  anoint,  but  states  that  this  name 
was  given  to  Jesus  Christ  because  He  was  often  on 
journeys,  and  did  not  spend  His  days  in  one  place. 
Concerning  other  derivations  he  says  there  are  no  less 
than  fifty  explanations  enumerated  by  him  in  his 
book  Masharik  Al  Anwarr' 

The  Moslem  interpretation  of  the  name  of  Jesus, 
Kalimet  Allah,  has  already  been  given.  In  Surah 
19 :  35,  He  is  called  Kaul  ul  Hah,  the  Word  of  Truth. 
An  argument  can  easily  be  based  on  these  expressions 
for  the  eternal  nature  of  Jesus  Christ  and  His  supreme 
office,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  most  Moslems  would 
admit  its  force.  Dr.  W.  St.  Clair  Tisdall  rightly 
says :  ^  "  The  term  Kalimah  (Xoyog,  word,  speech)  denotes 

1  Church  Missionary  Ileview,  July  1910. 

2  Fairozabadi,  Kamoos,  vol.  i.  p.  156  ;  of.  Beidhawi  on  Surah 
3:40. 

^  Revised  Mixanu'l  Haqq,  p.  185.     London,  1910. 


HIS  NAMES  AND  THEIR  SIGNIFICANCE    37 

the  expression  of  what  is  in  the  mind  of  the  speaker, 
who  in  this  case  is  God  Most  High.  If  Christ  were 
a  Word  of  God,  it  would  be  clear  that  He  was  only 
one  expression  of  God's  will ;  but  since  God  Himself 
calls  Him  "  the  Word  of  God,"  it  is  clear  that  He  must 
be  the  one  and  only  perfect  expression  of  God's  will, 
and  the  only  perfect  manifestation  of  God.  It  was 
through  Him  that  the  prophets  spoke  when  He  sent 
them  His  Holy  Spirit.  Since  then  the  title  Kalimatu 
lldh  shows  that  Christ  only  can  reveal  God  to  men. 
It  is  clear  that  He  Himself  must  know  God  and  His 
Will  perfectly." 

In  closing  this  account  of  the  names  of  Jesus  Christ 
in  the  Koran  and  their  significance,  there  are  two 
more  expressions  to  which  we  must  call  attention. 

The  first  of  these  occurs  in  Surah  21 :  91,  where 
Mary  is  referred  to,  and  the  statement  is  made,  "We 
made  her  and  her  Son  a  sign  unto  the  worlds."  The 
use  of  the  singular  instead  of  the  plural  in  this  con- 
nection brings  to  mind  the  name  of  our  Saviour  in 
Isaiah's  prophecy,  Wonderful.  Beidhawi's  comment 
on  this  text  is  an  evident  attempt  to  minimise  the 
significance  of  the  expression.  He  says :  "  We  made 
her  and  her  Son  a  sign  unto  the  worlds ;  that  is,  the 
story  of  their  life  or  their  condition,  for  whosoever 
thinks  of  their  condition  is  convinced  of  the  perfection 
of  power  in  God  Most  High,  Who  is  the  Creator." 

The  other  occurs  in  Surah  3 :  40 :  When  the  angel 
said,  "  0  Mary  !  verily,  God  gives  thee  the  glad  tidings 


38  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

of  a  Word  from  Him ;  His  name  shall  be  The  Messiah, 
Jesus  the  son  of  Mary,  Illustrious  i7i  this  world  and 
the  nexty  and  of  those  whose  place  is  nigh  unto  God." 
If  Moslems  were  willing  to  admit  all  that  these 
words  imply,  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  prove  that  in 
this  passage  of  the  Koran  the  person  and  character  of 
Jesus  Christ  are  superior  to  those  of  all  other  prophets 
and  apostles.  The  commentator  Beidhawi,  comment- 
ing on  this  passage,  uses  these  remarkable  words : 
"His  illustriousness  in  this  world  is  the  gift  of 
prophecy,  and  in  the  world  to  come,  the  power  of 
intercession ;  and  '  whose  place  is  nigh  to  God '  signifies 
His  high  position  in  Paradise,  or  the  fact  that  He, was 
raised  up  to  heaven  and  enjoys  the  companionship  of 
the  angels."  ^ 

1  Beidhawi  on  Surah  3  :  40. 


II 


THE  KORAN  ACCOUNT  OF  HIS  LIFE, 
DEATH,  AND  TRANSLATION 


"The  contents  and  the  arrangement  of  the  Koran 
speak  forcibly  for  its  authenticity.  All  the  fragments 
that  could  possibly  be  obtained  have  with  artless  sim- 
plicity been  joined  together.  The  patchwork  bears  no 
marks  of  a  designing  genius  or  a  moulding  hand.  It 
testifies  to  the  faith  and  reverence  of  the  compilers,  and 
proves  that  they  dared  no  more  than  simply  collect  the 
sacred  fragments  and  place  them  in  juxtafiSition. 
Hence  the  interminable  repetitions  ;  the  palling  reitera- 
tion of  the  same  ideas,  truths,  and  doctrines  ;  hence, 
scriptural  stories  and  Arab  legends,  told  over  and  over 
again  with  little  verbal  variation  ;  hence  the  pervading 
want  of  connection,  and  the  startling  chasms  between 
adjacent  passages." — Muir's  Life  of  Mahomet ,  p.  557. 


40 


II 


THE  KORAN  ACCOUNT  OF  HIS  LIFE, 
DEATH,  AND  TRANSLATION 

IN  attempting  to  give  an  account  of  the  life  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  very  words  of  the  Koran,  there  are 
three  difficulties  that  meet  us  at  the  outset. 

The  first  relates  to  the  general  piecemeal  character 
of  the  Koran  as  a  book.  It  has  no  chronological  order 
nor  logical  sequence.  Its  verses  were  revealed  at 
different  times  and  in  different  places,  and  throw 
together  in  confusion,  laws  and  legends,  facts  and 
fancies,  prayers  and  imprecations.  Very  few  Bible 
characters  are  mentioned  in  the  earliest  group  of  the 
Surahs,  and  although  there  are  distinctively  Christian 
features  in  some  of  the  early  revelations,  Jesus  Himself 
is  not  mentioned.^ 

A  more  serious  difficulty  is  that  the  Koran  state- 
ments about  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  are  not  free  from 
contradiction,  any  more  than  some  of  its  other  teaching. 
Some  passages  speak  of  Him  as  a  mere  man  and  a 
'^^  prophet ;  others,  as  we  have  seen,  give  him  such  titles 
as  are  giv^n  to  no  other  human  being.     Especially  in 

I'Cf.  ^SHiith^Jiri*;^  TJie'-Bibkjiaui  Islam,  pp.  86-87  ;  Rodwell's 
Koran  t  J3,_  4.  ~~--^ 


42  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

relation  to  His  death,  the  statements  are  contradictory, 
and  cannot  be  reconciled  without  violence  to  the  text. 

A  third  difficulty  relates  to  the  chronological  order 
of  the  Surahs.  If  it  were  our  purpose  to  show  the 
development  of  Mohammed's  ideas  in  regard  to  Jesus 
Christ,  it  would  be  important  to  begin  with  the  earliest 
mention  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Koran,  and  follow  out 
this  teaching  to  the  final  Surahs.  But  there  is  no 
agreement  as  regards  the  chronological  order  of  the 
various  chapters  in  the  Koran.^     Moslems  themselves 

^  I  had  occasion  recently  to  investigate  the  chronological  place  of 
one  of  the  Surahs,  and  the  more  authorities  consulted  the  less  cer- 
tainty appeared.  In  Hughes'  Dictionary  of  Islam  three  distinct  lists 
are  given — that  of  Jalal  ed  Din,  of  Rod  well,  and  of  Muir.  Noldeke's 
History  of  the  Koran  afforded  a  fourth  list.  All  of  them  are  authori- 
ties on  the  subject,  each  professing  to  have  arrived  at  his  results  by 
internal  evidence  and  criticism  of  the  accepted  text,  with  the  help  of 
authoritative  tradition.  After  reading  of  their  painstaking  efforts, 
and  persuaded  by  the  logical  reasons  for  many  of  Noldeke's  deductions 
in  his  elaborate  treatment  of  the  subject,  I  was  curious  to  know  in 
how  far  there  was  agreement  between  the  authorities  mentioned. 
The  following  was  the  result  : — 

By  actual  count  there  were  sixty-five  among  a  hundred  and  fourteen 
possible  instances  where  two  agreed.  There  were  only  five  instances 
where  three  agreed  on  the  order  of  certain  chapters.  There  were  forty- 
five  instances  where  all  disagreed,  and  there  was  not  a  single  instance 
where  all  ivere  agreed  as  to  the  place  of  a  Surah  in  chronological  order. 
The  greatest  agreement  was  between  Niildeke  and  Rodwell,  but  even 
they  differed  on  the  chronological  place  of  fifty-two  of  the  hundred 
and  fourteen  chapters.  Where  Muir  followed  the  Arabic  com- 
mentator, Niildeke  rejected  his  order  altogether,  and  where  the  latter 
approached  the  traditional  order,  Rodwell  and  Muir  agreed  to  disagree 
with  both.  There  was  the  widest  divergence  in  nearly  every  case. 
The  first  Surah  according  to  Muir  is  the  103rd,  while  Noldeke  makes 
it  the  97th.  The  Surah  of  The  Fen  is  considered  by  Jalal  ed  Diu  the 
second  in  order,  and  by  the  others  the  seventeenth,  fifty-second,  and 
eighteenth  respectively. 


HIS  LIFE  AND  DEATH  43 

acknowledge  that  the  present  order  of  the  Surahs  is 
not  at  all  chronological,  and  yet  they  admit  the  im- 
portance of  ascertaining  the  time  when  and  the  place 
where  each  Surah  was  revealed. 

As  our  purpose  is  not  to  trace  the  growth  of  this 
idea  in  the  mind  of  Mohammed,  but  to  collect  all  the 
passages  on  which  the  common  opinion  in  regard  to 
Jesus  Christ,  among  Moslems,  rests,  vro  need  not 
trouble  about  the  chronology  of  the  Surahs,  but,  group- 
ing them  as  far  as  possible  in  the  order  of  the  Gospel 
history,  give  herewith  a  life  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
words  of  the  Koran  only. 

His  Annunciation  1 

Surah  3:37-43.  And  when  Surah  19:16-21.  And  men- 

the    angels    said,    "  O    Mary  I  tion,  in  the  Book,  Mary  ;  when 

verily,   God   has    chosen  thee  she   retired    from   her  famih' 

and  has  purified  thee,  and  has  into  an  eastern  place  ;  and  she 

chosen  thee  above  the  women  took  a  veil  (to  screen  herself) 

^  The  following  index  of  the  leading  passages  in  the  Koran  that 
relate  to  Jesus  Christ,  as  they  occur  in  Beidhawi's  Commentary 
(Cairo  edition,  2  vols.),  will  prove  useful  to  those  who  have  found 
difficulty  in  locating  them,  as  Beidhawi's  Commentary  does  not 
number  the  verses  : — 

The  Annunciation  :  Surah  3  :  37-43,  vol.  i.  p.  206,  207  ;  Birth  : 
Sijrah  19  :  22-24,  vol.  ii.  p.  34  ;  Surah  23  :  52,  vol.  ii.  pp.  121,  122  ; 
Miracles:  Surah  3  :  43-46,  vol.  i.,  pp.  207,208;  Surah  5:  112-115, 
vol.  i.  pp.  365-367;  Mission:  Surah  2:81,  vol.  i.  p.  96;  Surah  2: 
254,  vol.  i.  p.  173  ;  Surah  3  :  44,  vol.  i.  p.  207  ;  Surah  4  :  157,  vol. 
i.  p.  316  ;  Surah  4  :  50-51,  vol.  i.  p.  340  ;  Surali  6  :  85,  vol.  i.  p. 
389  ;  Surah  17  :  26,  27,  vol.  i.  p.  695  ;  Surah  61  :  6,  vol.  ii.  p.  517  ; 
Crucifixion :  Surah  3 :  47-50,  vol.  i.  p.  209  ;  Surah  4  :  155,  156,  vol. 
i.  p.  315  ;  Divinity  and  Sonship  denied  :  Surah  3  :  51,  52,  vol.  i. 
p.  210  ;  Surah  3  :  72,  73,  vol.  i.  pp.  215,  216  ;  Surah  5  :  19,  vol.  i. 


44 


THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 


of  the  world.  0  Mary !  be 
devout  unto  thy  Lord,  and 
adore  and  bow  down  with  those 
who  bow.  That  is  (one)  of  the 
declarations  of  the  unseen 
world  which  we  reveal  to  thee, 
though  thou  wert  not  by  them 
when  they  threw  their  lots 
which  of  them  should  take 
care  of  Mary,  nor  were  ye  by 
them  when  they  did  dispute." 
When  the  angel  said,  "  O  Mary  ! 
verily,  God  gives  thee  the  glad 
tidings  of  a  Word  from  Him  ; 
his  name  shall  be  the  Messiah 
Jesus  the  son  of  Mary,  regarded 
in  this  world  and  the  next  and 
of  those  whose  place  is  nigh  to 
God.  And  he  shall  speak  to 
people  in  his  cradle,  and  when 
grown  up,  and  shall  be  among 
the  righteous."'  She  said, 
"  Lord  !  how  can  I  have  a  son 
when  man  hath  not  yet  touched 
me?"  He  said,  "Thus  God 
creates  what  He  pleaseth. 
When  He  decrees  a  matter  He 
only  says  *  Be,'  and  it  is  ;  and 
He  will  teach  him  the  Book,  and 
wisdom,  and  the  law,  and  the 
gospel,  and  he  shall  be  a  pro- 
phet to  the  children  of  Israel." 


from  them  ;  and  we  sent  unto 
her  our  spirit ;  and  he  took 
for  her  the  semblance  of  a  well- 
made  man.  Said  she,  "  Verily, 
I  take  refuge  in  the  Merciful 
One  from  thee,  if  thou  art 
pious."  Said  he,  "  I  am  only  a 
messenger  of  thy  Lord  to  bestow 
on  thee  a  pure  boy."  Saidishe, 
"  How  can  I  have  a  boy  when 
no  man  has  touched  me,  and 
when  I  am  no  harlot  ? "  He 
said,  "  Thus  says  thy  Lord,  It 
is  easy  for  Me !  and  we  will 
make  him  a  sign  unto  man, 
and  a  mercy  from  us  ;  for  it  is 
a  decided  matter."  ^ 


p.  330 ;  Surah  9  :  36,  vol.  i.  p.  498  ;  Surah  19  :  35,  36,  vol.  ii.  p. 
36  ;  Surah  43 :  57-65,  vol.  i.  pp.  411,  412 ;  The  Trinity :  Surah  4  : 
169,  vol.  i.  pp.  318,  319  ;  Surah  5  :  76-79,  vol.  i.  pp.  351-352  ; 
Surah  5:116,  117,  pp.  367,  368. 

^  Jelal-ud-Din  comments  on  these  passages  as  follows:    "  Inflavi- 
mus  earn  de  spiritu  nostro,  cum  inflavit  in  ai)erturam  tunicae  ejus 


HIS  LIFE  AND  DEATH 


45 


His  Birth 


Surah  19  :  22-34.  So  she  con- 
ceived him,  and  she  retired 
with  him  into  a  remote  place. 
And  the  labour  pains  came 
upon  her  at  the  trunk  of  a  palm 
tree,  and  she  said,  "0  that  I 
had  died  before  this,  and  been 
forgotten  out  of  mind  !  "  and 
he  called  to  her  from  beneath 
her,  "  Grieve  not,  for  thy  Lord 
has  placed  a  stream  beneath  thy 
feet ;  and  shake  towards  thee 
the  trunk  of  the  palm  tree,  and 
it  will  drop  upon  thee  fresh 
dates  fit  to  gather ;  so  eat  and 
drink  and  cheer  thine  eye  ;  and 
if  thou  shouldst  see  any  mortal 
say,  'Verily,  I  have  vowed  to 
the  Merciful  One  a  fast,  and  I 
will  not  speak  to-day  with  a 
human  being.' " 

Then  she  brought  it  to  her 
people,  carrying  it ;  said  they, 
"  O  Mary  !  thou  hast  done  an 
extraordinary  thing  !  0  sister 
of  Aaron  !  thy  father  was  not 
a  bad  man,  nor  was  thy  mother 
a  harlot !  " 


Surah  23  :  52.  And  we  made 
the  son  of  Mary  and  his  mother 
a  sign  ;  and  we  lodged  them 
both  in  a  high  place,  furnished 
with  security  and  a  spring. 


(Mariae)  ad  collum,  efficiente  Deo,  ut  flatus  ejus  perveniret  ad  vulvam 
ejus  et  ex  eo  conciperet  Jesum."  Beidhawi  (vol.  ii.  p.  33)  agrees  with 
this,  and  states  that  Gabriel  took  the  form  of  a  beautiful  youDg  man 
**ut  excitaret  Mariae  cupidinem  et  ita,"  etc.  It  is  the  opinion  of 
Gerock  that  Mohammed's  idea  of  the  conception  of  Jesus  Christ  by  the 
Virgin  Mary  was  wholly  sensual,  and  that  Gabriel  was  his  natural 
father.  Cf.  Christologie  des  Koran,  pp.  36-40.  His  argument  is 
based  on  the  Koran  text  itself. 


46  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

And  she  pointed  to  him,  and 
they  said,  "How  are  we  to 
speak  with  one  who  is  in  the 

cradle    a    child?"      He    said,  '■ 

"  Veril}^  I  am  a  servant  of  God  ; 
He  has  brought  me  the  Book, 
and  He  has  made  me  a  prophet, 
and  He  has  made  me  blessed 
wherever  I  be  ;  and  He  has 
required  of  me  prayer  and 
almsgiving  as  hmg  as  I  live, 
and  piety  towards  my  mother, 
and  has  not  made  me  a  miser- 
able tyrant ;  and  peace  upon 
me  the  day  I  was  born,  and  the 
day  I  die,  and  the  day  I  shall 
be  raised  up  alive." 

His  Miracles 

Surah  3  :  43-45.  And  He  will  teach  him  the  Book,  and  wis- 
dom, and  the  law,  and  the  gospel,  and  he  shall  be  a  prophet  to 
the  people  of  Israel  (saying)  that  I  have  come  to  you  with  a 
sign  from  God,  namely,  that  I  will  create  for  you  out  of  clay  as 
though  it  were  the  form  of  a  bird,  and  I  will  blow  thereon,  and 
it  shall  become  a  bird  by  God's  permission  ;  and  I  will  heal  the 
blind  from  birth,  and  lepers ;  and  I  will  bring  the  dead  to  life 
by  God's  permission  ;  and  I  will  tell  you  what  you  eat  and  what 
you  store  up  in  your  houses.  Verily,  in  that  is  a  sign  for  you  if 
ye  be  believers.  And  I  will  confirm  what  is  before  ycni  of  the 
law,  and  will  surely  make  lawful  for  you  some  of  that  which 
was  prohibited  from  you.  I  have  come  to  you  with  a  sign  from 
your  Lord,  so  fear  God  and  follow  me,  for  God  is  my  Lord,  and 
your  Lord,  so  worship  Him  :  this  is  the  right  path. 

And  when  Jesus  perceived  their  unbelief.  He  said,  "  Who  are 
my  helpers  for  God  %  "  Said  the  apostles,  "  We  are  God's  helpers," 
We  believe  in  God,  so  bear  witness  that  we  are  resigned.  Lord, 
we  have  believed  in  what  Thou  hast  revealed,  and   we  have 


HIS  LIFE  AND  DEATH  47 

followed  the  apostle,  so  write  us  down  with  those  which  bear 
witness."  ^ 

Surah  5  :  112-115.  When  the  apostles  said,  "0  Jesus,  son  of 
Mary  !  is  thy  Lord  able  to  send  down  to  us  a  table  from  heaven  ? " 
He  said,  "  Fear  God,  if  ye  be  believers  "  ;  and  they  said,  "  We 
desire  to  eat  therefrom  that  our  hearts  may  be  at  rest,  and  that 
we  may  know  that  what  thou  hast  told  us  is  the  truth,  and  that 
we  may  be  thereby  amongst  the  witnesses."  Said  Jesus,  the  son 
of  Mary,  "  O  God,  our  Lord  !  send  down  to  us  a  table  from 
heaven  to  be  to  us  as  a  festival — to  the  first  of  us  and  to  the 
last,  and  a  sign  from  Thee, — and  grant  us  provision,  for  Thou 
art  the  best  of  providers." 

God  said,  "Verily,  I  am  about  to  send  it  down  to  you;  but 
whoso  disbelieves  amongst  you  after  that,  verily  I  will  torment 
him  with  the  torment  which  I  have  not  tormented  any  one  with 
in  all  tlie  worlds."  ^ 

His  Mission  and  Message 

Surah  57  :  26-27.    And   we  Surah  2  :  254.  These  apostles 

sent  Noah  and  Abraham  ;  and  have  we  preferred  one  of  them 

placed  in  their  seed  prophecy  above    another.     Of     them   is 

and  the   Book ;   and   some  of  one  of  whom  God  spake ;  and 

them  are  guided,  though  many  we  have  raised  some  of  them 

of  them  are  workers  of  abomi-  degrees  ;    and  we   have   given 

nation  !  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary  manifest 

Then  we  followed  uj)  their  signs,   and    strengthened   him 

footsteps    with    our    apostles ;  by  the  Holy  Spirit.     And,  did 

and  we  followed  them  up  with  God  please,   those    who   come 

Jesus  the  son  of  Mary  ;  and  we  after    them    would    not  have 

gave  him  the  gospel ;  and  we  fought    after     there    came    to 

^  These  verses  are  the  only  reference  in  the  Koran  to  the  miracles  of 
Jesus  Christ.  How  meagre  compared  with  any  of  the  Gospels  !  And 
yet  later  tradition  has  built  up  on  these  verses  or  added  to  tliem  a 
whole  mass  of  legendary  wonders,  many  of  them  puerile  in  the  extreme. 

^  The  reference  is  undoubtedly  to  the  institution  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.  Tlie  later  explanations,  as  we  shall  see,  are  wide  of  the  mark. 
Cf.  1  Cor.  xi.  27  and  29-34. 


48 


THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 


placed  in  the  hearts  of  those 
that  followed  him  kindness  and 
compassion.  But  monkery, 
they  invented  it;  we  only 
prescribed  to  them  the  craving 
after  the  goodwill  of  God,  and 
they  observed  it  not  with  due 
observance.  But  we  gave  to 
those  who  believe  amongst 
them  their  hire  ;  though  many 
amongst  them  were  workers  of 
abomination ! 


them  manifest  signs.  But  they 
did  disagree,  and  of  them  are 
some  who  believe,  and  of  them 
some  who  misbelieve,  but,  did 
God  please,  they  would  not 
have  fought,  for  God  does  what 
He  will. 


Surah  5  :  50-51.     And    we 

followed  up  the  footsteps  of 
these  (prophets)  with  Jesus  the 
son  of  Mary,  confirming  that 
which  was  before  him  and  the 
law,  and  we  brought  him  the 
gospel,  wherein  is'i  guidance 
and  light,  verifying  what  was 
before  it  of  the  law,  and  a 
guidance  and  an  admonition 
unto  those  who  fear. 

Then  let  the  people  of  the 
gospel  judge  by  that  which  is 
revealed  therein,  for  whoso 
will  not  judge  by  what  God 
has  revealed,  these  be  the  evil- 
doers. 


Surah  2  :  81.  We  gave  Moses  5''^ 
the  Book  and  we  followed  him 
up  with  other  apostles,  and  we 
gave  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary 
manifest  signs  and  aided  him 
with  the  Holy  Spirit.  Do  ye 
then,  every  time  an  apostle 
comes  to  you  with  what  your 
souls  love  not,  proudly  scorn 
him,  and  charge  a  part  with 
lying  and  slay  a  part  ? 

Surah  6  :  85.  And  Zachariah 
and  John  and  Jesus  and  Elias, 
all  righteous  ones. 


Surah  61  :  6.  And  when 
Jesus  the  son  of  Mary  said,  "  O 
children  of  Israel  !  verily,  I 
am  the  apostle  of  God  to  you, 
verifying  the  law  that  was 
before  me,  and  giving  you  glad 
tidings  of  an  apostle  who  shall 


Surah  4 :  157.  And  there 
shall  not  be  one  of  the  people 
of  the  Book  but  shall  believe 
in  him  before  his  death ;  and 
on  the  day  of  judgment  he 
shall  be  a  witness  against  them. 


HIS  LIFE  AND  DEATH 


49 


come   after    me,  whose  name 
shall  be  Ahmed." 


Surah  3  :  44.  "  I  have  come 
to  you  with  a  sign  from  your 
Lord,  so  fear  God  and  follow 
me,  for  God  is  my  Lord,  and 
your  Lord,  so  worship  Him — 
this  is  the  right  path." 


His  Death 


[The  assertion  of  His  death  and  the  denial  of  His 
crucifixion  are  here  placed  in  parallel  columns  to  show 
a  discrepancy  in  statement  which  has  been  the  despair 
even  of  Moslem  commentators.] 


Surah  3:47-50.  But  they 
(the  Jews)  were  crafty,  and 
God  was  crafty,  for  God  is  the 
best  of  crafty  ones  ! 

When  God  said,  *'  O  Jesus ! 
I  will  make  thee  die  and  take 
thee  up  again  to  me,  and  will 
clear  thee  of  those  who  mis- 
believe,  and  will  make  those 
who  follow  thee  above  those 
who  misbelieve,  at  the  day  of 
judgment,  then  to  me  is  your 
return.  I  will  decide  between 
you  concerning  that  wherein 
ye  disagree.  And  as  for  those 
who  misbelieve,  I  will  punish 
them  with  grievous  punish- 
ment in  this  world  and  the 
next,  and  they  shall  have  none 
to  help  them."  But  as  for 
those  who  believe  and  do  what 
is  right,   He    will   pay  them 

4 


Surah  4  :  155-156.  And  for 
their  misbelief,  and  for  their 
saying  about  Mary  a  mighty 
calumny,  and  for  their  saying, 
"Verily,  we  have  killed  the 
Messiah,  Jesus  the  son  of 
Mary,  the  apostle  of  God."  .  .  • 
But  they  did  not  kill  him,  and 
they  did  not  crucify  him,  but  a 
similitude  was  made  for  them. 
And  verily,  those  who  differ 
about  him  are  in  doubt  con- 
cerning him ;  they  have  no 
knowledge  concerning  him, 
but  only  follow  an  opinion. 
They  did  not  kill  him,  for 
sure !  nay,  God  raised  him  up 
unto  Himself. 


50 


THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 


their  reward,  for  God  loves  not 
the  unjust.^ 

Surah  19  :  34.  "  And  peace 
upon  me  the  day  I  was  born, 
and  the  day  I  die,  and  the  day 
I  shall  be  raised  up  alive."  ^ 


His  Character  as  an  Apostle  and  Prophet 
(Denial  of  His  Deity) 


Surah  4  :  169.  O  ye  people 
of  the  Book  !  do  not  exceed  in 
your  religion,  nor  say  against 
God  aught  save  the  truth. 
The  Messiah,  Jesus  the  son  of 
Mary,  is  but  the  apostle  of  God 
and  His  Word,  which  He  cast 
into  Mary,  and  a  spirit  from 
Him  ;  believe  then  in  God  and 
His  apostles,  and  say  not 
"  Three."  Have  done  !  it  were 
better  for  you.  God  is  only 
one  God,  celebrated  be  His 
praise  that  He  should  beget  a 
Son  !  His  is  what  is  in  the 
heavens  and  what  Ms  in  the 
earth  ;  and  God  sufficeth  for  a 
guardian. 

Surah  5  :  116-117.  And  when 
God  said,   "0    Jesus,   son    of 


Surah  5  :  76-79.  They  mis- 
believe who  say,  "  Verily,  God 
is  the  Messiah  the  son  of 
Mary  ; "  but  the  Messiah  said, 
"  0  children  of  Israel !  worship 
God,  my  Lord  and  your  Lord ; " 
verily,  he  who  associates  aught 
with  God,  God  hath  forbidden 
him  Paradise,  and  his  resort  is 
the  Fire,  and  the  unjust  shall 
have  none  to  help  him. 

They  misbelieve  who  say, 
"Verily,  God  is  the  third  of 
three  ; "  for  there  is  no  God 
but  one,  and  if  they  do  not 
desist  from  what  they  say, 
there  shall  touch  those  who 
misbelieve  amongst  them 
grievous  woe. 

Will  they  not  turn  again 
towards  God  and  ask  pardon 


^  Beidhawi  says  on  this  passage  (vol.  i.  p.  209),  after  various 
attempts  to  escape  the  ordinary  meaning  of  the  words:  **Itis  said 
God  caused  him  to  die  for  seven  hours  and  then  raised  him  to  heaven." 

2  Beidhawi  makes  no  comment  on  this  clear  declaration  of  the  death 
of  Christ.     Moslems  say  it  refers  to  his  death  after  his  second  coming. 


HIS  LIFE  AND  DEATH 


51 


Mary !  is  it  thou  who  didst 
say  to  men,  take  me  and  my 
mother  for  two  gods,  beside 
God  ? "  He  said,  "  I  celebrate 
Thy  praise  !  what  ails  me  that 
I  should  say  what  I  have  no 
right  to?  If  I  had  said  it, 
Thou  wouldst  have  known  it ; 
Thou  knowest  what  is  in  my 
soul,  but  I  do  not  know  what 
is  in  Thy  soul ;  verily,  Thou 
are  one  who  knoweth  the 
unseen.  I  never  told  them 
save  what  Thou  didst  bid  me, 
— '  Worship  God,  my  Lord  and 
your  Lord,'  and  I  was  a  witness 
against  them  as  long  as  I  was 
amongst  them  ;  but  when  Thou 
didst  take  me  away  to  Thyself 
Thou  wert  the  watcher  over 
them,  for  Thou  art  witness 
over  all." 


of  Him?  for  God  is  forgiving 
and  merciful. 

The  Messiah  the  son  of  Mary 
is  only  a  prophet :  prophets 
before  him  have  passed  away  ; 
and  his  mother  was  a  confessor; 
they  both  used  to  eat  food. — 
See  how  we  explain  to  them 
the  signs,  yet  see  how  they 
turn  aside  I 


His  Character  as  an  Apostle  and  Prophet  ^ 


Surah  19  :  35-36.  That  is, 
Jesus  the  son  of  Mary, — by 
the  word  of  truth  whereon  ye 
do  dispute  ! 

God  could  not  take  to  Him- 
self any  son !  celebrated  be 
His  praise  !  when  He  decrees 
a  matter  He  only  says  to  it, 
"  Be,"  and  it  is  ;  and  verily, 
God  is  my  Lord  and  your 
Lord,  so  worship  Him ;  this  is 
the     right     way.     And      the 


Surah  3:  51-52.  That  is 
what  we  recite  to  thee  of  the 
signs  and  of  the  wise  reminder. 
Verily,  the  likeness  of  Jesus 
with  God  is  as  the  likeness  of 
Adam.  He  created  him  from 
earth,  then  He  said  to  him, 
"  Be,"  and  he  was. 


^  For  a  summary  of  the  teaching  of  these  passages  see  Chapter  V. 


52  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

parties  have  disagreed  amongst 
themselves. 

Surah  9  :  30.  The  Jews  say  Surah  5  :  19.  They  mis- 
Ezra  is  the  son  of  God  ;  and  believe  who  say,  "  Verily,  God 
the  Christians  say  that  the  is  the  Messiah  the  son  of 
Messiah  is  the  son  of  God ;  Mary  ; "  say,  "  Who  has  any 
that  is  what  they  say  with  hold  on  God,  if  he  wished  to 
their  mouths,  imitating  the  destroy  the  Messiah  the  son  of 
sayings  of  those  who  mis-  Mary,  and  his  mother,  and 
believed  before. — God  fight  those  who  are  on  earth 
them  !  how  they  lie  !  altogether  ? " 

Surah  47  :  57-64.  And  when  the  son  of  Mary  was  set  forth  as 
a  parable,  behold  thy  people  turned  away  from  him  and  said, 
"  Are  our  gods  better,  or  is  he  ? "  They  did  not  set  it  forth  to 
thee  save  for  wrangling.  Nay,  but  they  are  a  contentious 
people. 

He  is  but  a  servant  whom  we  have  been  gracious  to,  and  we 
have  made  him  an  example  for  the  children  of  Israel.  And  if 
we  please  we  can  make  of  you  angels  in  the  earth  to  succeed  you. 
And,  verily,  he  is  a  sign  of  the  Hour.  Doubt  not  then  concern- 
ing it,  but  follow  this  right  way  ;  and  let  not  the  devil  turn  you 
away  ;  verily,  he  is  to  you  an  open  foe  ! 

And  when  Jesus  came  with  manifest  signs,  he  said,  "  I  am  come 
to  you  with  wisdom,  and  I  will  explain  to  you  something  of  that 
whereon  ye  did  dispute,  then  fear  God,  obey  me  ;  verily,  God, 
He  is  my  Lord  and  your  Lord,  serve  Him  then ;  this  is  the 
right  way." 

Surah  3  :  72-73.  And,  verily,  amongst  them  is  a  sect  who 
twist  their  tongues  concerning  the  Book,  that  ye  may  reckon  it 
to  be  from  the  Book,  but  it  is  not  from  the  Book.  They  say, 
"  It  is  from  God,"  but  it  is  not  from  God,  and  they  tell  a  lie 
against  God,  the  while  they  know. 

It  is  not  right  for  a  man  that  God  should  give  him  a  Book  and 
judgment  and  prophecy,  and  that  then  he  should  say  to  men. 


HIS  LIFE  AND  DEATH  5S 

"  Be  ye  servants  of  mine  rather  than  of  God  ; "  but  be  ye  rather 
masters  of  teaching  the  Book  and  of  what  ye  learn. 

The  texts  above  given  are  the  total  contents  of  the 
Koran  as  far  as  they  relate  to  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  have  formed  the  basis  for  the  traditional  account 
of  His  life,  among  Moslems.  A  study  of  the  Koran 
commentaries  on  the  texts  given  will  show  how 
later  tradition  has  taken  the  outlines  of  Mohammed's 
revelation  and  made  the  picture  more  real,  more  full, 
but  also  more  fantastic.  Whatever  was  unintelligible 
or  contradictory  in  the  words  of  Mohammed's  revelation 
could  only  be  interpreted  and  made  clear  by  means  of 
tradition,  and  this  applied  not  only  to  the  legislative 
portions  of  the  Koran,  but  also  in  its  historical 
material.  Tradition  in  Islam,  we  must  remember, 
occupies  a  totally  different  position  to  what  we  under- 
stand by  tradition  in  the  Christian  Church.^  Orthodox 
tradition  consists  of  the  record  of  what  Mohammed 
did  or  enjoined,  or  that  which  he  allowed,  as  well  as  the 
authoritative  sayings  and  doings  of  the  companions  of  the 
prophet.  There  is  not  a  single  Moslem  sect  that  looks 
to  the  Koran  as  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  or 
as  the  only  reliable  source  of  historical  information 
on  the  earlier  prophets.  Therefore  we  must  necessarily 
go  to  tradition  for  the  fuller  portrait  of  Jesus  Christ. 
According  to  Goldziher,  tradition  is  the  normative 
principle    in    Islam.      "Before   the   end   of   the   first 

^  Hughes,  Dictionary  of  Islam,  art,  "Tradition." 


54  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

century,"  he  says,  "  they  had  already  laid  down  the 
canon:  The  Sunna  (tradition)  is  the  judge  over  the 
Koran,  and  not  the  Koran  the  judge  of  the  Sunna" ^ 
and  he  goes  on  to  show  that  the  authority  of  tradition 
increased  century  after  century. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  much  of  the  traditional 
account  of  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ  came  from  the  lips 
of  Mohammed  but  was  not  recorded  in  the  Koran. 
Other  portions  of  it  were  accredited  to  him,  although 
they  were  the  invention  or  contribution  of  Christian 
renegades  who  became  Moslems.^  Students  of  Islam 
are  in  disagreement  regarding  the  reliability  of 
tradition  in  general  and  the  authenticity  of  many 
traditions  in  particular.  While  Dozy  expresses  as- 
tonishment that  so  much  of  Moslem  tradition  is 
authentic  and  reliable,^  Goldziher,  on  the  other  hand, 
thinks  the  greater  part  was  manufactured  by  those 
who  came  after  Mohammed,  for  private  ends  in  Church 
and  State.*  Moulavi  Cheragh  Ali  says,  "  The  name  of 
Mohammed  was  abused  to  support  all  manner  of  lies 
and  absurdities,  or  to  satisfy  the  passion,  caprice,  or 
arbitrary  will  of  the  despots,  leaving  out  of  con- 
sideration the  creation  of  any  standards  of  test. 
I  am  seldom  inclined  to  quote  traditions,  having 
little    or    no    belief    in    their    genuineness,    as    they 

^  Goldziher,  Mohammedanische  Studien,  vol.  ii.  p.  19. 

^Jbid.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  382-399. 

^  Essai  sur  VHistoire  de  Vlslamisme,  p.  12. 

*  Vol.  ii.  p.  5,  Goldziher. 


HIS  LIFE  AND  DEATH  55 

generally  are  unauthenticated,  unsupported,  and  one- 
sided." ^ 

When  one  reads  the  standard  commentaries  on  the 
above  passages  of  the  Koran,  or  the  net  result  of  their 
investigations  based  on  tradition,  as  given  in  our  follow- 
ing two  chapters,  it  seems  impossible  to  determine  in 
how  far  we  have  a  portrait  of  Christ  as  given  by 
Mohammed  himself,  or  a  portrait  of  Christ  by  those 
who  followed  him.  Muir's  conclusion  is  unbiassed, 
and  may  well  lead  us  from  this  chapter  into  the  next. 

"That  the  Collectors  of  Tradition  rendered  an  important 
service  to  Islam,  and  even  to  history,  cannot  be  doubted.  The 
vast  flood  of  tradition,  poured  forth  from  every  quarter  of  the 
Moslem  empire,  and  daily  gathering  volume  from  innumerable 
tributaries,  was  composed  of  the  most  heterogeneous  elements ; 
without  the  labours  of  the  traditionists  it  must  soon  have  formed 
a  chaotic  sea,  in  which  truth  and  error,  fact  and  fable,  would 
have  mingled  together  in  undistinguishable  confusion.  It  is  a 
legitimate  inference  from  the  foregoing  sketch,  that  Tradition, 
in  the  second  century,  embraced  a  large  element  of  truth.  That 
even  respectably  derived  traditions  often  contained  much  that 
was  exaggerated  and  fabulous,  is  an  equally  fair  conclusion. 

1  Quoted  from  Political  and  Social  Reform  in  the  Ottoman  Empire, 
etc.  (Bombay,  1883),  pp.  19  and  147,  in  Hughes'  Dictionary  of  Islam. 
The  most  voluminous  authority  quoted  in  Moslem  Tradition  is  Abu 
Huraira,  known  by  this  surname,  "  the  Father  of  the  little  Cat,"  on 
account  of  his  fondness  for  cats.  He  joined  the  followers  of  Mohammed 
in  A.H.  629,  and  lived  with  him.  More  traditions  are  attributed  to 
him  than  to  any  other  source.  He  was  renowned  for  his  infallible 
memory,  and  yet  Moslems  themselves  raise  suspicion  in  regard  to  his 
trustworthiness.  Sprenger  calls  him  ' '  the  extreme  of  pious  humbug," 
but  we  must  take  into  account  the  fact  that  most  of  the  sayings  which 
tradition  attributes  to  him  were  foisted  on  him  probably  at  a  much 
later  di^tQ.— Encyclopedia  of  Islam,  p.  94,  art.  '*  Abu  Huraira." 


56  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

It  is  proved  by  the  testimony  of  the  Collectors  themselves  that 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  were  current  in  their  times, 
which  possessed  not  even  a  shadow  of  authority.  The  mass  may 
be  likened  to  the  image  in  Nebuchadnezzar's  dream,  formed  by 
the  unnatural  -union  of  gold,  or  silver,  of  the  baser  metals,  and 
of  clay  ;  and  here  the  more  valuable  parts  were  fast  commingling 
hopelessly  with  the  bad."  ^ 

^  Muir,  The  Life  of  Mahomet^  vol.  i.  p.  xlii. 


Ill 

JESUS  CHRIST  ACCORDING  TO 
TRADITION 


67 


Low  lies  the  Syrian  town  behind  the  mountain 
"Where  Mary,  meek  and  spotless,  knelt  that  morn, 

And  saw  the  splendid  Angel  by  the  fountain, 
And  heard  his  voice,  ''Lord  Isa  shall  be  born!" 

Arnold's  Pearls  of  the  Faith. 

The  Christ  of  post-Koranic  tradition  is  far  more  life- 
like than  the  Christ  of  the  Koran.  The  latter  is  a  mere 
lay-figure,  bedecked  with  honorific  titles  indeed,  such 
as  the  "  Spirit  of  God  and  a  word  proceeding  from  Him," 
and  working  miracles,  but  displaying  no  character.  In 
the  post- Koranic  writers,  on  the  other  hand,  we  have 
His  sinlessness,  His  return  to  judgment,  His  humility, 
His  unworldliness,  His  sufferings,  His  doctrine  of  the 
New  Birth,  topics  upon  which  the  Koran  is  entirely 
silent.— C.  H.  A.  Field  in  the  G.  M.  S.  Review. 


Ill 


JESUS  CHRIST  ACCOKDING  TO 
TRADITION 

FROM    HIS    BIRTH    TO    HIS    PUBLIC   MINISTRY 

THE  account  of  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ  given  in 
this  and  the  next  chapter  is  a  connected  sum- 
mary of  all  that  is  given  by  leading  commentators  and 
orthodox  tradition  on  the  Koran  passages  of  Chapter  II. 
as  collected  by  Imam  Abu  Ishak  Ahmed  bin  Mohammed 
bin  Ibrahim  Eth-ThalabL^  My  reasons  for  using  the 
account  of  Eth-Thalabi  have  already  been  given  in  the 
Introduction.  There  are  other  accounts,  but  they  are 
largely  parallel,  and  Eth-Thalabi,  who  was  himself  a 
commentator  on  the  Koran  of  some  reputation,  based 
his  work  on  traditions  which  are  universally  acknow- 
ledged as  authoritative  by  most  Moslems.  The  trans- 
lation given  is  as  far  as  possible  literal,  although  some 
few  passages  are  omitted  because  characterised  by  the 
crude   indecency   which   so   often   occurs    in   Moslem 

^  The  work  of  Thalabi  was  made  the  thesis  for  his  doctoral  degree 
by  Lidzbarski.  He  investigated  the  sources  of  all  the  legends  found 
iu  it,  and  gives  special  references.  His  work  is  entitled  De  Propheticis 
.  .  .  legendis  Ardbicis.     Leipzig,  Drugulin,  1893. 

59 


60  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

literature.  I  have  also  omitted  the  long  preliminary 
account  found  in  Kusus-al-Anhiah  on  Zechariah  and  the 
family  of  Amran,  as  not  strictly  germane  to  our  topic. 

Although  no  footnotes  are  given,  the  authority  for 
every  statement  and  story  can  easily  be  found  in 
Beidhawi,  Zamakhshari,  etc.,  under  the  appropriate 
Koran  passages. 

On  the  Birth  of  Jesus  {upon  whom  he  peace)  and  on 
Marys  Conception  of  Jesus  {on  both  of  them  he  peace)} 

Said  God  Most  High,  and  it  is  recorded  in  the  Book 
"  that  Mary  when  she  separated  from  her  people,  went 
to  an  eastward  place."  In  explanation  of  this  the 
learned  say  that  when  three  days  had  passed  since 
Mary  conceived  Jesus, — and  she  was  at  that  time  a 
girl  of  fifteen  years  old,  and  some  say  thirteen  years 
old, — she  dwelt  in  a  mosque ;  and  there  was  with  her 
in  the  mosque  her  cousin,  named  Joseph  the  carpenter, 
and  he  was  a  sweet-tempered  man,  who  earned  his 
living  by  his  trade.  And  Joseph  and  Mary  were  also 
servants  of  the  mosque  as  water-carriers,  and  when 
Mary  had  emptied  her  water-jar  and  Joseph  his,  each 
of  them  took  the  jar  and  went  to  a  cave  where  the 
water-spring  was,  to  draw  water.  And  then  they 
returned  to  the  Mosque. 

And  when  the  day  came  on  which  Gabriel  (upon 
whom   be  peace)  encountered  her,  it  was  the  longest 

^  A  translation  of  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ  from  Kusus-al-Anhiah,  by 
Imam  Abu  Ishak  Ahmed  bin  Mohammed  bin  Ibrahim  Eth-Thalabi. 
The  account  of  the  birth  and  life  of  Jesus  Christ  is  found  in  this  work 
on  pp.  241-255,  Cairo  edition,  1325  a.h. 


HIS  BIRTH  AND  LIFE  61 

day  of  the  year  and  the  hottest.  She,  wheu  her 
water-jar  was  emptied,  said,  "Will  you  not  go  with 
me,  0  Joseph,  and  we  will  draw  water  ? "  He  said, 
"  I  still  have  abundance  of  water  sufficient  until 
to-morrow ; "  but  she  said,  "  But  as  for  me,  by  God,  I 
have  no  water."  So  she  took  her  jar  and  went  away 
alone  until  she  entered  the  cave.  And  she  found  there 
with  her  Gabriel  (upon  whom  be  peace),  and  God  had 
made  him  resemble  a  beautiful  young  man.  And  he 
said  to  her,  "  O  Mary,  truly  God  hath  sent  me  to  you 
that  I  may  give  you  a  pious  child."  Said  she,  "  I  take 
refuge  with  the  merciful  One  from  you  if  you  are  an 
honest  person,"  that  is,  a  true  believer,  obedient  to  God. 

'Ali  bin  Abi  Talib  ^  says  (may  God  be  gracious  to  his 
countenance)  she  knew  that  the  pious  person  was 
merciful  and  modest,  and  she  considered  him  a  man  of 
the  sons  of  Adam.^ 

Akrima  says  that  Gabriel  appeared  to  her  in  the 
form  of  a  beautiful  young  man  of  fine  countenance,  with 
curly  hair  and  an  erect  form.  And  the  learned  say 
that  God  sent  Gabriel  in  the  form  of  a  human  being 
that  Mary  might  have  confidence  in  him  and  be  able 
to  hear  his  words,  for  if  he  had  come  down  in  his  angel 

1  The  reference  to  those  wlio  are  authority  for  the  various  and 
sometimes  contradictory  traditions  are  introduced  in  Moslem 
literature  by  these  words  :  "  Ali  bin  Abi  Talib  said,  Abu  Huraira  said, 
Katada  said,  etc."  We  have  not  thought  it  worth  while  to  give  a 
biographical  note  in  every  case.  Those  interested  can  consult  Ihn 
Khallikan. 

2  Cf.  footnote  on  page  44. 


62  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

form,  she  would  have  been  terrified  and  have  fled  from 
him  and  not  been  able  to  hear  his  message. 

And  when  Mary  said,  "  I  take  refuge  from  you,"  he 
said  unto  her,  "  Verily  I  am  the  apostle  of  thy  Lord  to 
give  you  a  pious  child."  Said  she,  "  Shall  there  be  to 
me  a  child,  and  no  one  has  touched  me,  and  I  have 
committed  no  folly  ? "  Said  he,  "  That  is  true,  but  thy 
Lord  finds  a  miracle  easy ; "  and  when  he  said  that, 
she  submitted  to  the  decree  of  God.  And  he  breathed 
in  the  opening  of  her  chemise ;  and  she  had  taken  it 
off ;  and  when  he  departed  from  her,  Mary  put  it  on, 
and  so  she  conceived  Jesus,  on  whom  be  peace.  Then 
she  filled  her  water-jar  and  went  back  to  the  mosque. 

Here  follows  an  indecent  explanation  at  considerable 
length.  Its  character  may  be  indicated  in  a  footnote 
from  another  source.^ 

Then  she  went  to  an  eastward  place,  because  it  was 
in  the  winter,  the  shortest  day  of  the  year.  Hasan 
says   in   relation   to  this  tradition  that  therefore  the 

^  As-Suhaili  states  that  in  "She  guarded  her/ar/,"  God  intended 
hy  farj  the  opening  of  her  shirt ;  that  is  to  say,  there  was  no  suspicion 
attached  to  her  dress,  she  being  clean  in  her  clothes.  The  openings 
(faruj)  of  a  shirt  are  four,  namely,  the  two  sleeves  and  the  upper  and 
under  parts.  Do  not  let  your  thoughts  take  you  to  any  other  than 
this  meaning,  this  being  an  excellent  metaphor,  for  the  Kur'an  is  too 
pure  in  meaning,  too  laconic  in  words,  too  delicate  in  suggestions,  and 
too  beautiful  in  expressions,  to  intend  that  to  which  the  imagination 
of  the  ignorant  may  lead,  especially  as  the  breathing  (into  her)  of  the 
spirit  of  sanctity  was  by  the  order  of  the  Holy  One,  so  that  sanctity 
joined  with  the  Holy  One,  and  the  sanctified  one  (Mary)  thus  became 
free  from  any  false  thought  and  suspicion  (about  her). — Ad-Damiri's 
Ray  at  Al-Hayawan^  p.  521. 


HIS  BIRTH  AND  LIFE  63 

Christians  worship  toward  the  east,  because  Mary- 
went  to  an  Eastward  place  when  she  met  Gabriel. 
And  there  was  with  her  at  the  time,  they  say,  a 
relative  of  her's,  called  Joseph  the  carpenter,  and  they 
were  employed  in  the  mosque  which  was  near  Mount 
Zion;  and  this  mosque  at  that  time  was  one  of  the 
largest  of  their  places  of  worship,  and  Mary  and  Joseph 
did  service  there  which  was  of  great  reward,  namely, 
keeping  it  in  order  and  purifying  it.  And  there  were 
not  known  at  that  time  people  who  were  more  diligent 
or  more  worshipful  than  these  two. 

And  the  first  one  who  doubted  her  because  she  had 
conceived  a  son  was  her  relative  and  friend,  Joseph 
the  carpenter.  And  when  he  marvelled  and  was  sur- 
prised, and  did  not  know  what  to  do  in  regard  to  her,  he 
spoke  to  her  concerning  the  matter.^     Said  El  Kelbi : 

*  We  condense  here  again  and  quote  from  the  French  translation  of 
Mirkhond's  Bauzat-us-Safa,  by  Lamairesse  : — 

"  Le  charpentier  Yusuf  (Joseph),  son  cousin  du  cote  maternel, 
s'aper9ut  le  premier  de  la  grossesse  de  Mariana.  II  venait  habituelle- 
ment  adorer  dans  le  Ville  Sainte  et  a  I'occasion  causait  avec  Marie. 
Fort  afflige,  il  lui  dit  un  jour  :  *  J'ai  sur  ta  piete  et  sur  ta  devotion 
un  soup^on  dont  je  desire  te  faire  part.'  'Soit,'  repondit  Marie. 
Yusuf  reprit  :  *  A-t-on  jamais  obtenu  recolte  sans  semence  ?  A-t-on 
jamais  eu  une  semence  qui  ne  provint  pas  d'une  moisson  1 '  Mariam 
replique  :  *Si  tu  admets  que  Dieu  a  cree  une  moisson,  elle  est  venue 
sans  semence ;  si  tu  crois  qu'il  a  cree  une  semence,  celle-ci  n'est  pas 
parvenue  d'une  moisson  ;  si  tu  admets  que  Dieu  a  cree  en  meme  temps 
la  moisson  et  la  semence,  aucune  des  deux  ne  provient  de  I'autre.' 
Yusuf  demanda  ensuite  :  '  A-t-il  jamais  existe  un  enfant  sans  pere  ? ' 
'Oui,'  repondit  Marie,  *  et  meme  sans  une  mere.  Adam  et  five 
n'eurent  ni  pere  ni  mere.'  Yusuf  ne  contesta  pas,  mais  il  ajouta : 
*  Mes  questions  etaient  purement  philosophiques,  maintenant, 
pardonne   ma  hardiesse  et  apprends-moi    comment  tu  es    devenue 


64  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

Joseph  the  carpenter  afterwards  took  Mary  and  Jesus 
to  a  cave,  and  caused  them  to  enter,  and  she  lived  there 
for  forty  days.  Then  after  she  had  brought  forth  her 
child,  she  left  the  cave  and  walked  on  the  road ;  and 
Jesus  spake  to  her  and  said,  "  0  my  mother,  all  hail  to 
thee !  because  I  am  the  servant  of  God  and  His 
Messiah."  And  when  she  came  to  her  people,  and  the 
young  child  was  with  her,  they  wept  and  were  sorrow- 
ful, because  they  were  pious  folk,  saying,  "0  Mary! 
you  have  done  great  wickedness  and  abomination,  0 
sister  of  Aaron."  Katada  said  that  Aaron  was  a  pious 
man,  of  the  upright  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  this 
was  not  Aaron  the  brother  of  Moses.  And  it  is  related 
that  he  followed  the  funeral  on  a  certain  day  when 
40,000  of  the  children  of  Israel  died,  all  of  whom  were 
named  Aaron  !  But  Wahab  said  that  Aaron  was  one  of 
the  most  corrupt  of  the  children  of  Israel  and  taught 
them  corrupt  practices,  and  that  is  why  they  compared 
Mary  to  Aaron,  saying,  "  Your  father  Amran  was  not 
wicked,  and  your  mother  was  not  a  transgressor  nor 
impure;  whence,  then,  is  there  come  to  you  this 
child  ? " 

Then  Mary  told  them  to  talk  to  Jesus,  and  they  grew 
angry  and  said,  "How  can  we  speak  to  him  who  is 
in  the  cradle,  a  little  child  ? "  Wahab  says  that  then 
Zachariah  came  to  her,  when   she   showed  herself   to 

grosse.'  Marie  repondit :  'Allah  m'a  fait  savoir  qu'il  enverrait  au 
monde  son  Verbe,  procedant  de  lui-meme,  le  Messie  Isa,  fils  de 
Miriam.'"— pp.  290-291. 


HIS  BIRTH  AND  LIFE  65 

the  Jews,  and  said  to  Jesus,  "  Speak  up,  and  give  us 
your  argument  if  you  are  so  commanded."  And  at 
that  instant  Jesus  (upon  Him  be  peace),  and  He  was 
only  forty  days  old,  said,  "  Verily,  I  am  the  servant  of 
God  to  whom  He  has  given  a  wonderful  Book."  And 
by  saying  this  He  confessed  that  He  worshipped 
God  and  proved  that  Christians  are  liars,  and 
established  His  argument  against  them.  Amru  bin 
Maimun  said  that  when  Mary  came  to  her  people  with 
Jesus,  they  took  up  stones  and  tried  to  stone  her,  but 
when  Jesus  spake,  they  left  her  alone.  It  is  also  said 
that  after  this  Jesus  did  not  speak  again  until  He  was 
of  the  ordinary  age  of  children  who  begin  to  talk.  And 
God  knows  best. 

On  the  Departure  of  Mary  to  Egypt.— Said  God  Most 
High  in  the  Koran :  We  have  made  the  son  of  Mary 
and  His  mother  a  sign,  and  given  them  refuge  for  a 
time  and  a  resting-place  appointed.  They  say  that 
the  birth  of  Jesus  took  place  forty-two  years  after  the 
beginning  of  the  reign  of  Augustus,  and  fifty-one  years 
had  passed  of  the  Kingdom  of  the  Ashkanin,  the  kings 
of  the  tribes.  And  the  kingdom  at  that  time  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  kings  of  these  tribes,  and  the  sovereignty  of 
Syria  and  its  provinces  was  to  Caesar,  the  king  of  Eome. 
And  the  ruler  of  the  provinces  on  behalf  of  Csesar  was 
Herod.  And  when  Herod  the  king  heard  the  news  of 
Christ,  he  desired  to  kill  Him,  and  it  was  because  they 
had  looked  at  a  star,  and  they  knew  by  their  reckonings 
to  what  this  referred,  from  a  book  which  they  had. 
5 


66  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

Then  God  sent  an  angel  to  Joseph  the  carpenter,  and 
told  him  what  Herod  desired  to  do,  and  commanded 
him  to  flee  with  the  young  child  and  His  mother  into 
Egypt ;  and  God  revealed  also  to  Mary  that  she  should 
go  to  Egypt :  "  For  if  Herod  gets  hold  of  your  son,  he 
will  kill  him,  but  when  Herod  dies,  return  then  to 
your  country."  Then  Joseph  put  Mary  and  his  son 
upon  a  donkey  which  he  had,  until  they  came  to 
Egypt,  and  this  was  the  place  which  God  spoke  of 
in  His  Book.  'Abdullah  bin  Salaam  said  that  the 
place  where  they  took  refuge  was  Damascus ;  Abu 
Huraira  says  it  was  Eamleh ;  and  Kitada  says  it 
was  Jerusalem.  Kaab  says  it  was  that  part  of  the 
world  which  is  nearest  heaven,  and  Abu  Zaid  says 
it  was  Egypt;  Dhahak  said  it  was  the  plain  of 
Damascus,  etc.  etc. 

Mary  remained  in  Egypt  twelve  years,  spinning 
cotton  and  gleaning  after  the  reapers.  And  she  was 
gleaning  after  the  reapers,  and  when  she  gleaned, 
she  carried  Jesus  on  one  of  her  shoulders  and  her 
gleaning  basket  on  the  other  till  He  was  twelve  years 
old.  And  it  is  related  that  Mohammed  the  son  of 
Ali  el  Bakir  said  :  When  Jesus  was  born  and  He  was  a 
day  old,  it  was  as  though  He  was  a  month  old ;  and 
when  He  was  nine  months  old,  His  mother  took  Him 
by  the  hand  and  led  Him  to  the  school  and  placed 
Him  between  the  hands  of  the  teacher;  and  the 
teacher  said  to  Him,  "  Say,  Bismillah  er-rahman  er 
rahiin"     Then  Jesus  said  it.     The  teacher  said,  "  Say 


HIS  BIRTH  AND  LIFE  67 

Ahjad."  1  Then  Jesus  (upon  whom  be  peace)  lifted  up 
His  head  and  said  to  him,  "  Do  you  know  what  Abjad 
means  ?  "  Then  the  teacher  lifted  up  his  rod  to  strike 
Him,  and  Jesus  said,  "  0  teacher !  do  not  strike  me  if 
you  know ;  if  you  do  not  know,  ask  me,  so  that  I  can 
explain  it  to  you."  When  the  teacher  said,  "  Explain 
it  to  me."  And  Jesus  said,  ^'Alif  means  that  there  is 
no  God  but  God ;  the  ha  stands  for  the  glory  of  God ; 
the  jim  for  the  majesty  of  God ;  and  the  dal  for  the 
religion  of  God.  Hawwaz  :  Ha  stands  for  hell,  and  the 
loaw  stands  for  woe  to  the  people  of  the  fire,  and  the 
za  stands  for  their  groanings  in  hell.  Hatta  signifies 
that  their  sins  can  never  be  forgiven.  Kalman  signifies 
the  Word  of  God  Uncreated  and  Unchangeable. 
Safas  signifies  measure  for  measure  and  part  for  part. 
Karshat  signifies  that  God  will  collect  them  at  the 
time  of  the  resurrection."  Then  the  teacher  said  to 
His  mother,  "  0  Woman,  take  thy  child,  for  He  knows 
everything  and  does  not  need  a  teacher." 

According  to  another  tradition  it  is  related  that 
the  prophet  of  God  said:  Verily,  Jesus,  when  His 
mother  sent  Him  to  be  taught,  and  the  teacher  said  to 
Him,  "  Say  Bismillah,"  replied,  "  What  is  Bismillah  ? " 
and  the  teacher  said,  "  I  do  not  know."  Jesus  said, 
"  The  ha  is  the  Glory  of  God,  and  the  sin  is  the  sub- 

^  Abjad,  the  first  word  in  a  mnemonic  series  containing  the  Arabic 
alphabet,  following  the  ancient  or  numerical  order,  and  used  as 
numerals  by  the  Arabs  until  superseded  by  later  notation.  Each 
word  in  the  series  is  here  interpreted  fancifully  with  a  play  on  the 
Arabic  root. 


68  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

limity  of  God,  and  the  mim  is  the  kingdom  of  God 
Most  High  and  Exalted,"  etc.  etc. 

On  the  Form  and  Figure  of  Jesus  {upon  Him  he 
peace). — Said  Kaab:  Jesus,  the  son  of  Mary,  was  a 
ruddy  man,  inclining  towards  white.  His  hair  was 
not  lank,  and  He  never  oiled  it.  He  went  bare-footed ; 
and  He  never  owned  a  place,  or  a  change  of  garments, 
or  property  or  vesture  or  provisions,  except  His  daily 
bread.  And  whenever  the  sun  began  to  set,  He  would 
kneel  and  pray  until  the  morning.  He  was  in  the 
habit  of  healing  the  sick  and  the  lepers,  and  raising 
the  dead  by  the  will  of  God.  He  could  tell  those 
about  Him  what  they  ate  in  their  houses,  and  what 
they  laid  up  against  the  morrow.  He  walked  on  the 
face  of  the  water  on  the  sea.  He  had  dishevelled 
hair,  and  His  face  was  small.  He  was  an  ascetic  in 
this  world  and  greatly  desirous  of  the  world  to  come ; 
diligent  in  serving  God.  And  He  was  a  wanderer  in 
the  earth  till  the  Jews  sought  Him  and  desired  to 
kill  Him.  Then  God  lifted  Him  up  to  heaven,  and 
God  knows  best. 

Concerning  the  signs  and  wonders  which  were  mani- 
fested hy  the  hand  of  Jesus  in  His  youth  until  He 
became  a  prophet. — Wahab  said  that  the  first  miracle  of 
Jesus  which  people  saw  was  as  follows:  His  mother 
was  living  in  the  house  of  the  ruler  in  Egypt  where 
Joseph  the  carpenter  left  her,  and  this  was  the  house 
where  the  poor  congregated.  Money  was  stolen  from 
the  treasury  of  the  ruler,  and  the  poor  did  not  care. 


HIS  BIRTH  AND  LIFE  69 

And  Mary  was  grieved  by  this  occurrence.  Now 
when  Jesus  saw  the  sorrow  of  His  mother  at  what  had 
happened  to  their  host,  He  said,  "  0  my  mother  !  do 
you  wish  that  I  should  show  him  where  his  property 
is  ? "  And  she  said,  "  Yes,  my  son."  He  said  to  her, 
"  Say  to  him  that  he  gather  together  all  the  poor  in  his 
courtyard."  So  Mary  told  the  ruler  to  gather  the  poor 
together ;  and  when  they  were  collected  Jesus  pointed 
out  two  men.  One  of  them  was  blind  and  the  other 
was  lame.  He  put  the  lame  man  upon  the  back  of 
the  blind  man  and  said  to  him,  "  Get  up ! "  and  the 
blind  man  said,  "  I  am  too  weak  to  do  it."  Then  Jesus 
said  to  him,  "  How  were  you  able  to  do  it  yesterday  ? " 
And  when  they  heard  that,  they  struck  the  blind  man 
till  he  got  up.  And  when  he  got  up,  the  lame  man 
showed  him  the  way  to  the  treasure  house.  And 
Jesus  said  to  the  ruler,  "  Thus  they  played  the  trick 
upon  the  owner  of  the  property  yesterday;  because 
the  blind  man  helped  with  his  strength  and  the  lame 
man  with  his  eyes."  Then  the  blind  man  and  the  lame 
man  said,  "  He  speaks  the  truth,  by  God  " ;  and  they 
returned  his  property  to  the  ruler,  and  he  received  it 
and  put  it  in  the  treasury ;  and  said,  "  0  Mary !  take 
half  of  it."  And  she  said,  "  I  am  not  poor  enough  for 
that."  Then  said  the  ruler,  "Give  it  to  your  son"; 
and  she  said,  "  He  is  greater  in  dignity  than  I  am." 

Not  long  after  the  ruler  desired  to  have  the  marriage 
of  his  son  take  place,  so  he  made  a  feast  and  collected 
all  the  people  of  Egypt  and  fed  them  for  two  months. 


70  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

And  when  it  was  finished,  certain  people  from  Syria 
came  to  see  him,  and  he  did  not  know  of  their  coming 
until  they  came  down  upon  him.  And  on  that  day 
he  had  no  drink  for  them.  And  when  Jesus  saw  his 
anxiety  on  this  account,  He  entered  some  of  the 
chambers  of  the  ruler  in  which  there  were  rows  of  jars, 
and  He  passed  by  them  one  by  one,  touching  them 
with  His  hand ;  and  every  time  He  touched  one  it  was 
filled  with  drink  until  He  came  to  the  last  one.  And 
He  was  at  that  time  twelve  years  old. 

Es  Sadi  said  concerning  another  miracle  of  Jesus 
(upon  Him  be  peace) :  When  He  was  in  school  with 
His  playmates,  He  told  them  what  their  fathers  were 
eating.  He  would  say,  for  example,  to  one  of  the 
boys,  "  Go  home,  for  your  people  are  doing  thus  and 
thus ;  and  they  are  eating  so  and  so ;  or,  they  have 
prepared  for  you  this  and  this."  Then  the  boy  would 
run  home  to  his  people  and  cry  until  they  gave  him 
what  they  had  been  eating.  Then  they  said  to  him, 
"  Who  told  you  of  it  ?  "  and  he  said,  "  Jesus."  So  they 
kept  their  boys  away  from  Him,  and  said, "  Do  not  play 
with  this  sorcerer."  And  when  they  were  gathered 
together  in  a  house,  Jesus  came  seeking  them.  And 
they  said,  "  They  are  not  here ; "  and  He  said,  "  What 
is  there  in  this  house  ? "  They  said,  "  Swine  ; "  said 
He,  "  Let  it  be  so."  And  when  they  opened  the  door 
the  boys  had  turned  into  swine.  And  when  this  was 
noised  abroad  the  children  of  Israel  understood  that 
He  was  a  prophet.     And  when  His  mother  was  afraid 


HIS  BIRTH  AND  LIFE  71 

for  His  life,  she  put  Him  upon  a  donkey  and  carried 
Him  up  to  Egypt. 

Another  miracle :  said  Es  Sadi,  When  Jesus  and 
His  mother  went  out  on  their  wanderings  throughout 
the  earth,  they  came  to  the  land  of  Israel  and 
alighted  in  a  village  at  the  house  of  a  man  who  enter- 
tained them  as  his  guests  and  was  kind  to  them. 
The  king  at  that  time  was  a  mighty  man  and  an 
oppressor.  So  one  day  their  host  came  in  greatly 
worried  and  sorrowful,  and  he  entered  his  house,  and 
Mary  was  then  sitting  with  his  wife.  So  she  said  to 
her,  "  What  is  the  matter  with  your  husband,  for  I  see 
him  sad  of  countenance  ? "  and  she  said,  "  Do  not  ask 
me."  And  Mary  said,  "  Tell  me,  for  perhaps  by  my 
hand  his  sorrow  will  be  lightened."  And  she  said,  "  We 
have  a  king  who  puts  a  burden  upon  every  man  of  us 
in  his  turn,  because  he  compels  us  to  feed  and  to  give 
wine  to  him  and  his  soldiers  on  a  certain  day ;  and  if 
he  does  not  do  it,  he  punishes  him.  To-day  it  is  our 
turn,  and  we  have  no  sufficiency."  Said  Mary,  "  Say  to 
him, '  Do  not  be  anxious  at  all,  for  he  has  been  kind  to 
us,  and  I  will  command  my  son  that  He  make  supplica- 
tion for  him,  and  it  will  suffice  him.' "  Then  Mary  told 
Jesus.  And  Jesus  said,  "  If  I  do  it,  evil  will  befall." 
Mary  said,  "  We  do  not  care,  because  he  w^as  kind  to  us 
and  honoured  us."  Said  Jesus,  "  Then  say  to  him  that 
he  bring  together  and  fill  up  all  his  vessels  and  pots 
with  water,  and  then  come  and  tell  me."  So  he  did  so, 
and  called  Jesus.      Then  the  water  in  the  vessels  was 


72  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

changed  into  meat  and  gravy,  and  the  water  in  the  pots 
was  changed  into  wine  such  as  men  had  never  tasted 
before.  So  when  the  king  came,  be  ate  and  drank 
and  asked,  "  Whence  is  this  wine  ? "  And  they  said  to 
him,  "  From  such  and  such  a  country."  Said  the  king, 
"  My  wine  comes  from  the  same  country,  but  it  is  not  as 
good  as  this."  Then  they  mentioned  another  country, 
and  when  this  again  was  a  mistake  and  the  king  be- 
came suspicious,  he  said,  "  Tell  me  the  truth  " ;  and  he 
said,  "  I  will  tell  you.  There  is  with  me  a  young  man 
who  never  asks  God  for  anything  but  He  gives  it  to 
Him.  He  asked  God  Most  High,  and  He  made  the 
water,  wine." 

Now  this  king  had  a  son  whom  he  desired  to  be 
his  successor ;  and  he  had  died  some  days  previous, 
and  the  king  loved  him  more  than  anyone  else.  So 
he  said,  "  If  there  is  a  man  who  can  ask  God  to  make 
water  into  wine,  let  him  make  intercession  so  that 
my  son  may  live  again."  So  they  called  Jesus  and 
spoke  to  Him  concerning  this.  And  Jesus  said  to 
him,  "Do  not  do  it,  because  if  he  lives  again,  evil 
will  befall  you."  The  king  said,  "  I  do  not  care,  if 
only  I  can  see  him."  And  Jesus  said  to  him,  "If  I 
make  him  live  for  you,  will  you  allow  me  and  my 
mother  to  go  where  we  please  ? "  And  he  said,  "  Yes." 
So  Jesus  called  upon  God,  and  the  young  man  came 
to  life.  And  when  the  people  of  the  kingdom  saw 
that  his  son  was  alive,  they  got  together  their 
weapons   and   said,  "  This  one  has  devoured   us,  and 


HIS  BIRTH  AND  LIFE  73 

now  when  his  death  is  near,  he  desires  to  have  his 
son  rule  over  us,  who  will  also  devour  us  as  his 
father  did."  So  they  killed  them,  but  Jesus  and 
his  mother  went  away. 

Said  Wahab:  While  Jesus  was  playing  with  his 
playmates,  one  of  them  jumped  upon  another  and 
kicked  him  with  his  feet  till  he  died.  So  they  threw 
him  between  the  arms  of  Jesus,  and  He  was  covered 
with  blood;  and  when  the  people  came  upon  them, 
they  took  notice  of  it  and  carried  Him  to  the  Kadi 
of  Egypt,  and  said  to  him,  "  This  boy  has  killed  the 
other."  So  the  Kadi  asked  Him,  and  Jesus  said,  "  I 
do  not  know  who  killed  him,  and  I  am  not  his 
companion."  They  desired  to  fall  upon  Jesus  (upon 
Him  be  peace),  and  He  said  to  them,  "  Bring  me  the 
boy  who  was  killed";  and  they  said,  "What  do  you 
wish  to  do  with  him  ? "  He  said,  "  I  wish  to  ask  him 
who  killed  him."  Said  they,  "  How  can  he  speak  to 
you  when  he  is  dead  ? "  They  took  Jesus  and  brought 
Him  to  the  place  where  the  boy  was  killed;  and 
when  Jesus  offered  a  prayer,  God  raised  him  from 
the  dead,  and  Jesus  said  to  him,  "  Who  killed  you  ? " 
The  boy  said,  "  So  and  so."  Then  the  children  of  Israel 
said,  "  Who  is  this  ? "  and  he  said,  "  This  is  Jesus,  the 
son  of  Mary."  And  they  said,  "Who  is  that  with 
Him?"  and  he  said,  "The  judge  of  the  children  of 
Israel."  Immediately  he  died  again.  Then  Jesus 
went  back  with  His  mother,  and  a  great  multitude 
followed  Him.     And  His  mother  said,  "  Shall  I  defend 


74  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

you  from  them  ?     And  he  said,  "  God  will  keep  us, 
and  He  is  the  Most  Merciful." 

Another  miracle.  Said  'Atta:  When  Mary  took 
Jesus,  after  He  left  school,  to  various  workmen  to 
learn  His  trade,  the  last  to  whom  she  gave  Him 
were  dyers.  And  she  put  Him  with  the  chief  dyer 
to  learn  the  trade.  So  he  brought  together  different 
coloured  garments.  Then  he  said  to  Jesus,  "  Now  you 
have  learned  this  part  of  your  trade,  and  I  am  going 
out  on  a  journey.  I  will  not  return  for  ten  days. 
These  garments  are  a  different  colour,  and  you  have 
learned  how  each  is  to  be  dyed.  When  I  come  back, 
I  hope  the  work  will  be  finished."  So  Jesus  (upon 
whom  be  peace)  prepared  one  kind  of  dye,  and  put 
all  the  garments  in  it,  and  said  to  them,  "By  the 
permission  of  God  Most  High,  be  ye  as  I  order. 
And  when  the  dyer  came  back  and  found  all  the 
garments  in  one  vessel,  he  said  to  Jesus,  "  What  have 
you  done  ? "  He  said,  "  I  have  finished  the  work." 
The  dyer  replied,  ''Where?"  He  said,  "In  this 
vessel."  Said  the  dyer,  "  All  of  them  ? "  Jesus  said, 
"Yes."  "How  is  it  possible  for  them  all  to  be  in 
one  vessel  ?  You  have  spoiled  the  garments."  Said 
Jesus,  "  Pdse  and  see."  So  he  arose ;  and  Jesus  pulled 
out  a  yellow  garment,  a  green  garment,  a  red  garment, 
etc.,  according  to  the  desire  of  the  dyer.  And  he  was 
astonished,  and  knew  it  was  from  God  most  great 
and  glorious ;  and  he  said  to  the  people,  "  Come  and 
see  what   Jesus   has   done."      So  he  and   his  friends 


HIS  BIRTH  AND  LIFE  75 

believed  in  Him,  and  these   his  friends   became   the 
apostles.     And  God  knows  best.^ 

Concerning  the  return  of  Mary  and  Jesus  {upon  them 
he  peace)  to  their  own  country  after  the  death  of  Herod. — 
Wahab  said  that  when  Herod  the  king  died  twelve 
years  after  the  birth  of  Jesus  (upon  Him  be  peace), 
God  Most   High  revealed  to  Mary  the  news  of  the 
death  of  Herod  and  commanded  her  to  return  with 
her  cousin  Joseph  the  carpenter  to  Syria.     So  Jesus 
and  His  mother  (upon  them  be  peace)  returned  and 
dwelt  in  the  mountains  of  Galilee,  in  the  village  of 
Nazareth.      From    this   the   Nasara  (Christians)   get 
their  name.     And  Jesus  used  to   learn  in   one   hour 
the  knowledge  of  a  day,  and  in  a  day  the  knowledge 
of  a   month,   and   in   a   month   the    knowledge   of   a 
year.      And    when    He   had   completed   his   thirtieth 
year,  God  revealed   to  Him  that  He   must  manifest 
Himself    before    men    and    call    them    to   God;    and 
speak   parables   to   them,   and    heal    their    sick    and 
palsied  and  their  blind ;  and  should  tame  and  subdue 

1  Another  miracle  of  the  boyhood  days  of  Jesus  is  given  as  follows  : 
"While  Jesus,  the  son  of  Mary,  and  John,  the  son  of  Zacharias, 
were  once  going  together,  they  saw  a  wild  she-goat  (or  ewe)  in  labour, 
upon  which  Jesus  said  to  John,  *  Say  these  words,  "Hanna  (Hannah) 
gave  birth  to  John,  and  Mary  gave  birth  to  Jesus  ;  the  earth  calls 
thee,  0  young  one,  come  forth,  O  young  one  ! "  '  Hammad  b.  Zaid 
states  that  if  these  words  are  uttered  near  any  woman  in  labour  in  a 
tribe,  she  will  not  be  long  in  delivering  by  the  order  of  God.  John 
(Yahya)  was  the  first  one  to  believe  in  Jesus ;  they  were  the  sons  of 
(each  other's)  maternal  aunts,  and  the  former  was  older  than  the 
latter  by  six  months  ;  John  was  killed  before  the  translation  of  Jesus 
to  heaven." — Ad-Damiri's  Hayat-Al-Hayawan,  p.  111. 


76  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

those  possessed  of  devils,  and  they  died  for  fear  of 
Him.  So  He  did  what  was  commanded  Him;  and 
men  loved  Him,  and  turned  to  Him  and  were  pleased 
with  Him;  and  the  number  of  those  that  followed 
Him  increased,  and  His  reputation  became  great,  and 
perchance  there  collected  around  Him  of  the  sick 
and  palsied  in  one  hour,  fifty  thousand.  And  every 
one  who  could  get  to  Him,  went  to  Him,  and  who- 
soever was  not  able,  Jesus  went  to  them.  And  He 
healed  them  by  prayer  on  condition  of  faith.  And 
the  prayer  by  which  He  healed  the  sick  and  raised 
the  dead  is  as  follows :  0  God !  Thou  art  the  God  who 
art  in  heaven  and  the  God  who  art  on  earth.  There 
is  no  God  in  them  save  Thee;  and  Thou  art  the 
Strong  One  in  the  heavens  and  the  Strong  One  upon 
earth,  and  there  is  no  Strong  One  save  Thee.  And 
Thou  art  the  King  of  all  who  are  in  heaven  and 
the  King  of  those  who  are  on  earth,  and  there  is 
no  king  in  them  save  Thee.  Thou  art  the  Euler  in 
heaven  and  the  Ruler  upon  earth,  and  there  is  no 
Ruler  in  them  save  Thee.  Thy  power  on  earth  is  as 
Thy  power  in  heaven,  and  Thy  authority  in  heaven 
is  as  Thy  authority  on  earth.  I  ask  Thee  by  Thy 
names  most  gracious,  for  Thou  art  all-powerful.^ 

^  All  of  the  above  is  translated  from  the  Arabic  text  of  Eth-Thalabi. 


IV 

JESUS  CHRIST  ACCORDING  TO 
TRADITION 


n 


"Traditions  can  never  be  considered  as  at  all  reliable 
unless  they  are  traceable  to  some  common  origin,  have 
descended  to  us  by  independent  witnesses,  and  corre- 
spond with  the  statements  of  the  Koran  itself— always  of 
course  deducting  such  texts  as  (which  is  not  infrequently 
the  case)  have  themselves  given  rise  to  the  tradition.  It 
soon  becomes  obvious  to  the  reader  of  Muslim  traditions 
and  commentators  that  both  miracles  and  historical 
events  have  been  invented  for  the  sake  of  expounding  a 
dark  and  perplexing  text ;  and  that  even  the  earlier  tradi- 
tions are  largely  tinged  with  the  mythical  element. " — 
J.  M.  RoDWELL,  Introduction  to  Koran  Translation, 
p.  7. 

"The  Cross  of  Christ  is  the  missing  link  in  the  Mus- 
lim's creed  ;  for  we  have  in  Islam  the  great  anomaly  of  a 
religion  which  rejects  the  doctrine  of  a  sacrifice  for  sin, 
whilst  its  great  central  feast  is  a  Feast  of  Sacrifice." — 
T.  H.  Hughes,  Dictionary  of  Islam,  p.  233. 


78 


IV 


JESUS  CHRIST  ACCORDING  TO 
TRADITION 

HIS   PUBLIC   MINISTRY   TO   HIS   SECOND   COMING 

BEFORE  we  pass  on  to  the  continuation  of  Eth-Tha- 
labi's  account,  it  is  important  to  remember  that 
the  death  of  Jesus  Christ  is  both  affirmed  and  denied  in 
the  Koran.  In  order  to  unify  its  teaching,  the  only 
escape  possible  was  to  affirm  that  although  He  died  for 
a  few  hours  or  days,  He  was  not  crucified.  In  addition 
to  this,  Moslems  add  that  when  He  comes  the  second 
time  He  will  die  again,  emphasizing,  as  it  were,  the 
frailty  of  His  human  nature,  which,  even  after  His 
return  from  glory,  is  subject  to  death ;  and  so  contra- 
dicting all  the  teaching  of  the  New  Testament  that 
"  He  died  for  sin  once,"  and  "  death  hath  no  more 
dominion  over  Him."  We  take  up  Thalabi  once  more : 
The  Story  of  Jesus  Disciples.-— Seiid  God  Most  High 
(in  the  Koran),  When  Jesus  called  them  back  from 
infidelity.  He  said,  "  Who  are  my  helpers  for  God  ? " 
Then  the  disciples  said,  "  We  are  your  helpers  for  God. 

79 


80  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

We  have  believed  in  God,  and  we  bear  witness  that  we 
are  Moslems."  And  said  God  Most  Glorious  and 
Praiseworthy,  When  it  was  revealed  to  the  disciples, 
that  is,  they  were  inspired  to  know,  that  they  should 
believe  in  Him  and  in  His  apostle,  they  said,  *'We 
have  believed  and  we  witness  that  we  are  Moslems. 
Know  that  the  disciples  were  the  chosen  of  Jesus,  the 
son  of  Mary,  and  His  favourites;  those  in  whom  He 
was  pleased,  and  His  helpers  and  viziers.  They  were 
twelve  in  number,  and  their  names  were :  Simon,  the 
yellow  one  (pale),  who  was  called  Peter,  and  Andrew 
his  brother ;  James,  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  Yahya  his 
brother;  Philip  and  Bartholomew  and  Thomas  and 
Matthew,  the  toll-gatherer;  James  the  son  of  Haifa, 
and  Liya  (Levi)  who  was  called  Thaddeus,  and  Simon 
the  Canaanite,  and  Jude  Iscariot  (upon  them  be  peace)." 
And  the  learned  men  are  disagreed  as  to  why  they  had 
these  names.^  Said  Ibn  'Abbas  :  They  were  fishermen 
who  plied  their  trade,  and  Jesus  passed  by  them  and 
said  to  them,  "  What  are  you  doing  ? "  and  they  said, 
"  We  are  catching  fish."  And  He  said,  "  Will  you  not 
walk  with  me,  so  that  we  may  catch  men  ? "  And 
they  said  to  Him,  "How  is  that?"  And  He  said, 
"  We  will  call  the  people  to  God."     They  said,  "  Who 

^  The  apostles  are  not  called  rusul  as  Mohammed  is  called  rasill 
(apostle),  but  Eawari  (Surah  3  :  4,  5  ;  4  :  111,  112  ;  61  :  14).  The  word 
is  derived  from  the  iEthiopic  hora  =  to  go,  hawarxja,  an  apostle. 
According  to  Beidhawi  it  comes  from  hawira^  to  be  white,  and  was 
given  to  the  disciples  of  Jesus  because  of  their  purity  of  life  and  sincer- 
ity.   Others  say  because  they  wore  white  garments  or  dyed  them  white. 


DEATH,  ASCENSION,  AND  RETURN        81 

art  Thou?"  And  He  said,  ''I  am  Jesus,  the  son  of 
Mary,  and  servant  of  God,  and  His  apostle."  And  they 
said, "  Will  any  of  the  prophets  be  above  Thee  ? "  And 
He  said, "  Yes,  the  Arabian  prophet."  So  they  followed 
Him,  and  believed  in  Him,  and  departed  with  Him. 

Said  Sa'di :  They  were  sailors.  Ibn  Artat  said :  They 
were  dyers,  and  they  were  called  by  their  name, 
Hawari,  because  they  dyed  garments  and  made  them 
white. 

It  hath  been  told  us  by  Ibn  Fatuh  in  his  tradition 
received  from  Mass'ab,  that  the  disciples  were  twelve 
men  who  followed  Jesus ;  and  when  they  were  hungry 
they  said,  "  0  Spirit  of  God  !  we  are  hungry."  Then  He 
would  strike  with  His  hand  upon  the  ground,  whether 
it  was  a  plain  or  a  mountain,  and  there  would  come 
forth  to  every  man  of  them  two  loaves,  and  they  would 
eat  them.  And  when  they  were  thirsty  they  would 
say, "  0  Spirit  of  God  !  we  are  thirsty."  And  He  would 
strike  the  earth,  whether  it  was  a  plain  or  a  mountain, 
and  water  would  gush  forth,  and  they  would  drink. 
Then  they  said,  "  0  Spirit  of  God  !  who  is  happier  than 
we :  when  we  wish,  Thou  dost  feed  us,  and  when  we 
are  desirous.  Thou  dost  give  us  drink,  and  we  believe  in 
Thee  and  have  followed  Thee."  Said  Jesus,  "  The  best 
of  you  is  he  who  works  with  his  hands  and  eats  what 
he  has  earned."  So  it  is  related  that  they  began  to 
make  clothes  for  their  living. 

Said  Ibn  'Aun :  One  of  the  kings  of  the  earth  made 
a  feast  and  invited  the  people,  and  Jesus  was  one  of  the 
6 


82  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

guests.  And  the  repast  did  not  grow  less.  Then  the  king 
said  to  Him,  "  Who  art  Thou  ? "  and  He  said,  "  I  am 
Jesus,  the  son  of  Mary."  Said  the  king,  "  I  will  leave 
my  kingdom  and  follow  Thee."  So  he  departed  with 
those  that  followed  Him,  and  they  were  the  disciples. 
And  some  say  this  was  the  dyer  and  his  friends,  whose 
story  we  have  already  related.  Said  Dhahak:  They 
were  called  Hawariyun  (disciples)  because  of  the  purity 
of  their  hearts.  And  said  'Abdullah  ibn  Mubarak: 
They  were  so  called  because  they  were  luminous  with 
light.  On  them  was  the  sign  of  worship,  its  brightness 
and  its  purity.  And  the  old  meaning  of  Hut  among 
the  Arabs  is  intensity  of  whiteness.  And  Hassan  said : 
The  disciples  were  the  helpers ;  and  Katada  said :  They 
are  the  ones  who  became  the  caliphs  after  Christ. 
[Here  the  author  quotes  Mohammed  as  saying  that 
every  apostle  had  his  disciples,  and  then  goes  into  a 
discussion  as  to  who  were  the  disciples  {HawariyHn) 
of  Mohammed.] 

An  account  of  the  special  characteristics  of  Jesus  {upon 
Him  he  peace),  and  the  miracles  which  came  from  His 
hand  after  His  call  until  He  was  lifted  up  {God's  blessing 
be  upon  Him). — Among  His  special  characteristics  was 
this,  that  God  strengthened  Him  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Said  the  Book  of  God :  And  We  strengthened  Him  by 
the  Holy  Spirit.  A  similar  expression  is  used  in  the 
Surah  of  the  Table  when  God  said,  O  Jesus,  son  of 
Mary,  remember  My  mercy  upon  Thee  and  upon  Thy 
mother  when  We  strengthened  thee   with   the   Holy 


DEATH,  ASCENSION,  AND  RETURN        83 

Spirit.  And  the  learned  are  disagreed  in  regard  to  the 
significance  of  these  words.  Eabi'a  said :  It  is  the  Spirit 
which  was  breathed  upon  Him,  which  is  related  to  God 
Himself  in  the  same  sense  as  we  use  the  words  House 
of  God  and  Camel  of  God  in  the  Koran.  And  the  Holy- 
One  He  is  God  Most  High,  as  is  indicated  by  the 
expression  "  Spirit  from  Him  "  and  the  expression  "  We 
breathed  in  Him  of  our  Spirit."  Others  say  that  the 
significance  of  Holy  is  purity,  the  Pure  Spirit.  And 
Jesus  (upon  Him  be  peace)  was  called  a  Spirit  because 
He  had  no  male  parent.  He  was  not  born  after  the 
manner  of  other  men  [the  expressions  here  used  are 
unfit  for  translation],  but  He  was  created  by  the  com- 
mand of  God.  Kaab  and  Sadi,  however,  say  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  Gabriel,  and  that  Jesus  was  strengthened 
by  Gabriel's  presence  because  he  was  His  companion 
and  His  helper,  going  with  Him  wherever  He  went 
until  He  took  Him  up  to  heaven.  And  Seyyid,  the  son 
of  Jabir,  and  Obeid,  the  son  of  Amir,  state,  The  Holy 
Spirit  is  the  name  of  God  Most  High,  and  by  it  Jesus 
raised  the  dead  and  showed  men  these  wonders. 

And  among  his  characteristics  was  that  God  taught 
Him  the  Gospel  and  the  Torah,  and  He  read  them  from 
memory,  as  God  said  in  His  book,  "  When  we  taught 
you  the  book,"  namely,  by  memory.  It  is  said  that 
memory  consists  of  ten  parts,  and  that  Jesus  possessed 
nine  of  them,  as  well  as  wisdom  and  a  knowledge  of  the 
Torah  and  the  Gospel. 

And  among  His  characteristics  was  that  He  created 


84  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

birds  from  clay,  as  God  Most  High  said,  Truly  I  have 
come  to  you  with  a  sign  from  your  Lord.  I  will  create 
for  you  from  clay  the  appearance  of  birds;  I  will 
breathe  upon  them  and  they  will  fly,  by  permission  of 
God.  And  in  accordance  with  this  word  of  the  Koran 
Jesus  fashioned  clay  into  the  form  of  birds,  and  then 
He  breathed  upon  them  and  they  were  birds,  by  per- 
mission of  God.  And  He  only  created  bats.  And  He 
selected  this  variety  because  the  bat  is  the  most  perfect 
of  birds  in  its  powers,  because  it  suckles  its  young,  and 
gives  birth  to  them,  and  has  teeth,  and  is  a  mammal, 
and  flies.  Wahab  said  the  birds  would  fly  while  men 
looked  at  them,  and  when  they  disappeared  from  sight 
they  fell  down,  to  distinguish  the  work  of  a  mere  man 
from  the  work  of  God  Most  High ;  and  that  it  might 
be  known  that  the  only  one  who  is  perfect  is  God  Most 
High. 

And  among  His  characteristics  was  that  He  cured 
the  blind  from  birth  and  lepers,  as  God  said  in  His 
book.  And  Thou  shalt  heal  the  blind  and  lepers,  by 
My  permission.  And  these  two  special  diseases  were 
selected  because  physicians  could  not  cure  them;  and 
as  medicine  was  the  most  celebrated  science  in  the 
days  of  Jesus,  He  showed  them  a  miracle  after  this 
sort.  And  it  is  related  that  Jesus  (upon  Him  be 
peace)  passed  by  a  village  in  which  there  were  blind 
people,  and  He  said,  Who  are  these?  They  told 
Him,  These  are  people  who  sought  for  justice,  and 
they  put  out  their  eyes  with  their  own  hands.     And 


DEATH,  ASCENSION,  AND  RETUKN        85 

Jesus  said  to  them,  "  What  made  you  do  it  ? "  and  they 
said,  "  We  feared  the  punishment  of  the  judge,  so  we 
did  it  ourselves,  as  you  see."  And  He  said  to  them, 
"  Ye  are  the  learned,  and  the  judges,  and  the  advocates 
and  the  noble  are  the  ignorant.  Now  wipe  your 
eyes  with  your  hands  and  say  '  Bismillah '" ;  and  they 
did  so,  and  immediately  all  of  them  had  their  sight. 

And  among  His  characteristics  was  raising  of  the 
dead  by  the  permission  of  God.  As  God  said,  And 
when  Thou  dost  come,  the  dead  come  forth  by  My 
permission.  And  among  the  dead  whom  He  raised  was 
Lazarus,  His  friend.  His  sister  sent  to  Jesus,  saying, 
Your  brother  Lazarus  is  dying;  so  He  came  to  him. 
And  He  was  three  days'  journey  away  from  him,  and 
when  He  and  His  friends  came,  they  found  that  he 
had  already  died  three  days  ago.  And  He  said  to  his 
sister,  Depart  with  us  to  his  grave;  and  it  was  in 
a  rock  built  up  like  a  tomb.  Then  Jesus  said,  0 
God !  Lord  of  the  seven  heavens  and  the  three 
earths,  verily,  Thou  hast  sent  me  to  the  children 
of  Israel  to  call  them  to  Thy  religion,  and  Thou 
hast  told  them  that  I  can  raise  the  dead  by  Thy 
permission,  so  raise  up  Lazarus.  Then  Lazarus  arose 
and  came  out  from  his  grave,  and  remained  alive 
and  had  children. 

And  among  those  whom  He  raised  from  the  dead 
was  the  son  of  an  old  woman,  and  this  is  the  story. 
Jesus  passed  in  His  wanderings  with  the  disciples 
by  a  city,  and  He  said,  "  Verily  in  this  city  there  is 


86  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

treasure.     Who  will  go  and  get  it  out  for  us  ? "     And 
they   said,  "0  Spirit  of  God,  no  stranger  can  enter 
this  city,  for  they  will  kill  him."     And   said   Jesus, 
"  Stay  where  you  are  until  I  return."     And  He  went 
till  He  came  to  the  city  and  stood  at  the  gate  and 
said,  "  Peace  be  to  you,  0  people  of  this  place ;  I  am 
a   stranger:    give   me   to   eat."      And   an  old  woman 
said  to  him,  "Don't  you  wish  me  to  go  with  you  to 
the  governor  so  that  you  may  say  to  him,  'Give  me 
to  eat '  ? "     And  while  Jesus  was  standing  at  the  door, 
behold,   a   young  man,   the    son   of   the   old   woman, 
approached.     Jesus  said  to  him,  "  Make  me  thy  guest 
this  night;"   and  the  young  man  replied  as  did  his 
mother,  the  old  woman.     And  Jesus  said  to  him,  "I 
tell  you  that  if  you  will  do  it,  I  will  marry  you  to 
the  daughter  of  the  king.      The  young  man  said  to 
Him,  "Either  you   are   crazy,  or   you   are  Jesus  the 
son  of  Mary."     And  He  said,  "I  am  Jesus."     So  he 
gave   Him   lodging,   and    He    spent    the    night   with 
him;    and   when  He  arose  in  the   morning,  He  said 
to  him,   "Take   your  breakfast   and  go  to  the  king, 
and  say  to  him,  '  I  have  come  to  be  engaged  to  your 
daughter.'     Then   he   will   command   them   to    strike 
you   and  cast  you  out.     So   the  young  man  went  to 
the  king,  and  said  to  him,  "  I  have  come  that  I  may 
be   engaged   to   your   daughter."      So   he   commanded 
him   to  be   beaten,   and   they   did   so,  and   cast    him 
out.     Then  the  young  man  came  back  to  Jesus  and 
told  Him  the  news.     And  Jesus  said,  "  On  the  morrow 


DEATH,  ASCENSION,  AND  RETURN        87 

go  to  him  again  with  the  same  request,  and  he 
will  give  you  the  same  punishment,  but  less."  So 
the  young  man  did  as  he  was  told,  and  they  struck 
him  with  fewer  blows  than  the  first  time,  and  he 
came  back  to  Jesus  and  told  Him.  Then  Jesus 
said,  "  Go  to  him  to-morrow,  and  he  will  say  to  you, 
'  I  will  marry  you  to  my  daughter  upon  one  condition, 
and  my  condition  is  a  castle  of  gold  and  silver,  and 
all  that  is  in  it  of  gold  and  silver  and  precious 
stones.'  Then  say  to  him,  *  I  will  do  it.'  And  if  he 
sends  some  one  with  you,  go  outside  with  him,  for 
you  will  find  it,  and  nothing  will  happen  to  you." 
Then  he  went  in  to  the  king  and  became  engaged 
to  his  daughter ;  and  the  king  said,  "  Will  you  give 
her  the  dowry  according  to  niy  desire  ? "  And  he  said, 
"  What  is  your  desire  ? "  And  he  commanded  in  ac- 
cordance with  what  Jesus  had  told  him.  So  he  said, 
"  Yes,  I  am  willing.  Send  with  me  some  one  who 
will  give  it  to  you."  So  he  sent  a  man  with  him, 
and  he  gave  him  what  the  king  wished,  and  the 
people  all  marvelled  at  that.  And  so  the  king  gave 
him  his  daughter.  And  tlie  young  man  marvelled 
and  said,  "  0  Spirit  of  God,  you  are  able  to  do  things 
like  this,  and  still  you  are  poor  ? "  And  Jesus  said 
to  him,  "  I  have  preferred  that  which  remains  to  that 
which  fades  away."  Said  the  young  man,  "  I  also  prefer 
it,  and  I  will  be  your  companion."  So  he  forsook 
the  world  and  followed  Jesus.  Then  Jesus  took  him 
by   the   hand   and   brought   him   to    his   companions. 


88  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

and  said  to  them,  "This  is  the  treasure  concerning 
whom  I  told  you."  And  the  son  of  the  old  woman 
remained  with  Him  till  he  died.  And  when  they 
passed  by  with  him  on  the  bier,  Jesus  cried  to 
God;  and  the  young  man  sat  up  and  took  up  the 
bier  from  the  necks  of  the  men  that  carried  it, 
dressed  himself,  and  carried  it  on  his  back  and 
went  back  to  his  people,  and  remained  alive;  and 
to  him  also  children  were  born. 

And  among  the  miracles  of  raising  the  dead  was 
the  daughter  of  the  toll  -  gatherer.  They  said  to 
Jesus,  "  Will  you  raise  her,  for  she  died  yesterday  ? " 
And  He  called  upon  God  Most  High,  and  she 
lived. 

Among  those  He  raised  was  Shem,  the  son  of 
Noah.  Said  the  disciples  unto  Him,  when  He  was 
describing  Noah's  ark,  "  If  you  had  sent  us  some  one 
who  had  seen  the  ark  and  could  describe  it  to  us, 
we  would  believe."  So  He  arose  and  came  to  a  little 
hill,  and  struck  it  with  His  hand  and  took  a  handful 
of  the  earth  and  said,  "This  is  the  grave  of  Shem, 
the  son  of  Noah.  If  you  wish,  I  will  raise  him  for 
you."  They  said,  "  Yes  ; "  and  He  called  upon  God  by 
His  greatest  name,  and  struck  the  hill  with  His 
staff  and  said,  "  Come  to  life  by  permission  of  God." 
Then  Shem,  the  son  of  Noah,  came  forth  from  his 
grave,  white  haired.  And  he  said,  "  Is  this  the 
resurrection  day  ? "  Said  Jesus,  "  No,  but  I  have  called 
you  out  in  the  name  of  God  Most  High."     Shem  had 


DEATH,  ASCENSION,  AND  RETURN        89 

lived  five  hundred  years  and  he  was  still  young.  So 
he  told  them  the  news  of  the  ark.  Then  Jesus  said 
to  him,  "  Die ; "  and  he  said,  "  Only  on  one  condition, 
that  God  protects  me  from  the  agonies  of  death." 
Jesus  granted  his  request  by  permission  of  God;  and 
all  this  is  mentioned  in  the  story  of  Noah  the  prophet 
(upon  whom  be  peace). 

And  among  those  whom  He  raised  from  the  dead 
was  Ezra  (upon  whom  be  peace).  They  said  to  Jesus, 
Raise  him  from  the  dead,  or  we  will  burn  you  with 
fire.  So  they  collected  a  great  lot  of  wood  of  the 
vine;  and  in  those  days  it  was  the  custom  to  bury 
people  in  coffins  made  of  stone.  When  they  found 
the  grave  of  Ezra  with  his  name  written  on  the 
outside,  they  tried  their  best  to  open  it  and  were 
not  able,  so  they  could  not  get  him  out  from  the 
grave.  They  went  back  to  Jesus  and  told  Him,  and 
He  handed  them  a  vessel  with  some  water  and  said. 
Sprinkle  this  upon  his  grave ;  and  they  did  so.  Then 
the  coffin  was  easily  opened,  and  they  came  with 
him  to  Jesus.  And  behold,  he  was  wrapped  in  a 
shroud,  and  the  earth  does  not  consume  the  bodies 
of  the  prophets.  Therefore  when  they  took  off  his 
garment.  He  began  to  sprinkle  the  water  upon  his 
body  and  his  head.  Then  He  said,  "  Come  to  life,  O 
Ezra,  by  permission  of  God  Most  High ; "  and  behold, 
he  sat  up  in  the  sight  of  their  eyes.  And  they 
said  to  Ezra,  "  Will  you  not  witness  to  this  man, 
namely,  Jesus  ? "     And  he  said,  "  I  witness  that  He  is 


90  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

the  servant  of  God  and  His  apostle.  And  they  said 
to  Jesus,  "  Ask  your  Lord  to  allow  him  to  stay  with 
us,  that  he  may  be  alive  among  us."  And  Jesus  said, 
"Take  him  back  to  his  grave;"  and  he  died.  And 
some  believed  in  Jesus,  the  son  of  Mary,  and  some 
were  rebellious.^ 

^  To  complete  this  series  of  miracles  we  add  one  more  story  popular 
in  Arabia  :  Historians  and  authors  of  stories  of  the  deeds  (of  the 
ancients),  relate  that  a  man  among  the  Beni-Israil  in  the  time  of 
Jesus,  whose  name  was  Ishak,  had  a  wife  (cousin)  who  was  one  of  the 
handsomest  women  of  her  time.  He  was  devotedly  attached  to  her, 
and  she  happened  to  die.  He  therefore  stayed  near  her  grave,  and  for 
a  long  time  never  flagged  in  visiting  it.  One  day  Jesus  happened  to 
pass  by  him  while  he  was  by  her  grave  crying.  So  Jesus  asked  him, 
"  What  makes  you  cry,  O  Ishak?"  He  replied,  "0  Spirit  of  God, 
I  had  a  cousin  who  was  also  my  wife,  and  I  used  to  love  her  very  much  ; 
she  is  now  dead,  and  this  is  her  grave.  I  have  no  patience,  and  her 
separation  has  killed  me."  Jesus  asked  him,  "  Do  you  wish  me  to 
revive  her  for  you,  by  the  permission  of  God  ? "  And  he  replied,  "  Yes, 
O  Spirit  of  God."  Jesus  then  stood  over  the  grave  and  said,  "Rise 
up,  0  dweller  in  this  grave,  by  the  permission  of  God,"  whereupon 
the  grave  clave  open,  and  there  stepped  forth  out  of  it  a  black  slave 
with  fire  coming  forth  from  his  nostrils,  his  eyes,  and  other  openings 
in  his  face,  and  saying,  "There  is  no  deity  but  God,  and  Jesus  is  His 
Spirit,  His  Word,  His  Servant,  and  His  Apostle."  Ishak  said,  "0 
Spirit  and  Word  of  God,  this  is  not  the  grave  in  which  my  wife  is, 
but  it  is  this  one,"  pointing  to  another  grave.  Jesus  then  said  to  the 
black  slave,  "Return  to  the  state  in  which  you  were,"  upon  which  he 
fell  down  dead,  and  he  buried  him  in  his  grave.  He  then  stood  over 
the  other  grave  and  said,  "Rise  up,  0  dweller  in  this  grave,  by  the 
permission  of  God,"  and  thereupon  the  woman  rose  up,  scattering  off 
the  dust  from  her  face.  Jesus  asked  him,  "  Is  this  your  wife?"  and 
he  replied,  "Yes,  0  Spirit  of  God."  Jesus  then  said,  "Take  her 
then  by  the  hand  and  go  away."  He  therefore  took  her  and  went 
away,  but  having  been  overcome  by  sleep  he  said  to  her,  "The  want 
of  sleep  over  your  grave  has  killed  me;  I  wish  therefore  to  rest." 
She  replied,  "Do  so."  So  he  placed  his  head  on  her  lap  and  slept. 
While  he  was  asleep,  the  king's  son  happened  to  pass  by  her  ;  he  was 
beautiful  and  handsome,  had  a  large  frame  (of  body)  and  was  mounted 


DEATH,  ASCENSION,  AND  RETURN        91 

Among  His  characteristics  is  knowledge  of  secret 
things,  for  He  used  to  tell  them  what  they  ate,  and 
what  they  treasured  up  in  their  houses.  Said  El 
Kalbi:  When  Jesus  healed  the  blind  and  the  lepers 
and  raised  the  dead,  they  said,  "  This  is  a  sorcerer,  but 
let  Him  tell  us  what  we  eat  and  what  we  drink  in 
secret,  and  we  will  believe."     So  He  told  them  what 

on  a  beautiful  courser.  When  she  saw  him,  love  for  him  entered  her 
mind,  and  she  stood  up  hurriedly  for  him  ;  and  when  he  saw  her,  love 
for  her  also  entered  his  mind ;  so  she  came  to  him  and  said  to  him, 
"Take  me."  He  therefore  caused  her  to  mount  behind  him  on  his 
courser  and  went  away.  When  her  husband  woke  up  from  his  sleep, 
he  looked  about  for  her,  but  not  finding  her,  he  went  in  search  of  her, 
following  the  footsteps  of  the  courser.  He  at  last  overtook  them  and 
said  to  the  [king's  son,  "Give  me  my  wife  and  cousin."  But  she 
denied  it,  saying,  "  I  am  the  slave-woman  of  the  king's  son  ;"  and  he 
said,  "No,  you  are  my  wife  and  my  cousin."  She  then  said,  "  I  do 
not  know  you,  I  am  only  the  king's  son's  slave-woman."  The  king's 
son  then  said  to  him,  "Do  you  want  to  spoil  my  slave-woman?" 
upon  which  Ishak  said,  "Verily,  by  God,  she  is  my  wife,  and  Jesus 
the  son  of  Mary  has  revived  her  for  me  by  the  permission  of  God, 
after  she  had  died."  While  they  were  thus  quarrelling,  Jesus 
happened  to  pass  that  way,  so  Ishak  said  to  him,  "0  Spirit  of  God, 
is  not  this  my  wife  whom  you  have  revived  for  me  by  the  permission 
of  God  ? "  and  he  replied,  "  Yes  ; "  but  she  said,  "  0  Spirit  of  God,  he 
lies  ;  I  am  the  slave- woman  of  the  king's  son."  The  king's  son  also 
said,  "This  is  my  slave-woman."  Jesus  therefore  asked  her,  "Are 
you  not  the  one  whom  I  have  revived  by  the  permission  of  God?" 
and  she  replied,  "  No,  by  God,  0  Spirit  of  God,"  upon  which  he  said 
to  her,  "Return  to  us  what  we  have  given  you,"  and  she  fell  down 
dead.  Jesus  then  said,  "Whoever  wants  to  see  a  man  whom  God 
caused  to  die  an  unbeliever,  then  revived  him  and  caused  him  to  die 
a  second  time,  a  Muslim,  let  him  look  at  the  black  slave,  and  whoever 
wants  to  see  a  woman  whom  God  caused  to  die  a  believer,  then 
revived  her  and  caused  her  to  die  a  second  time  an  unbeliever,  let  him 
look  at  this  one."  Ishak  the  Jew  then  swore  to  God  that  he  would 
never  marry  again,  and  went  away  crying  into  the  deserts. — Ad- 
Damibi's  Hayat-Al-Hayawan,  pp.  497-498. 


92  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

they  would  eat  the  following  day,  or  what  they  had 
eaten  in  the  past. 

Another  characteristic  was  His  walking  upon  the 
water.  It  is  related  that  He  went  out  once  on  His 
wanderings,  and  there  was  with  Him  a  man  of  short 
stature ;  and  he  was  a  close  companion  of  Jesus.  And 
when  they  approached  the  sea.  He  said,  "  In  the  name  of 
God,  good  health  and  certainty."  So  He  walked  upon 
the  face  of  the  waters.  Then  the  man  of  short  stature 
said, "  In  the  name  of  God,  in  health  and  certainty;"  and 
he  walked  upon  the  face  of  the  waters.  Then  astonish- 
ment seized  him,  and  he  said,  "  This  is  Jesus,  the  Spirit 
of  God,  walking  on  the  water,  and  I  am  walking  on 
the  water."  No  sooner  had  he  said  so  than  he  began  to 
sink,  and  he  cried  aloud  to  Jesus  to  pull  him  out. 
And  He  said,  "  What  was  it  that  you  said,  0  man  of 
short  stature  ? "  So  he  told  Him ;  and  Jesus  said  to 
him,  "  You  have  put  yourself  in  the  wrong  place  and 
God  is  angry  at  what  you  said;  so  repent  to  God." 
And  the  man  repented,  and  regained  his  position  with 
Jesus.  [Here  the  author  draws  a  comparison  between 
Mohammed  and  Christ,  and  quotes  Mohammed  as 
saying  that  if  Jesus  had  possessed  more  faith  and  trust. 
He  would  have  walked  not  only  on  the  water,  but  on 
the  air.] 

Other  Traditions  concerning  Jesus  Christ. — Wahab 
said :  Jesus  (on  whom  be  peace)  went  out  one  day  on 
His  wanderings,  and  a  Jew  accompanied  Him,  who  had 
two  loaves  of   bread,   and  Jesus  had    only  one   loaf. 


DEATH,  ASCENSION,  AND  RETURN        93 

Said  Jesus  unto  him,  "  Share  me  your  food ;  and  the 
Jew  said,  "  Yes ; "  but  when  he  saw  that  Jesus  had 
only  one  loaf,  he  was  sorry.  And  when  Jesus  went 
up  to  pray.  His  companion  went  aside  and  ate  one  of 
his  loaves.  When  Jesus  had  finished  His  prayer,  He 
asked  him,  "  Where  is  the  other  loaf  ? "  and  he  replied, 
"  I  had  only  one."  So  they  both  ate  one  loaf,  and  then 
they  departed.  [The  story  goes  on  to  relate  how  Jesus 
performed  miracle  after  miracle  (mostly  of  an  inane 
character),  which  convinced  the  Jew  of  His  divine 
mission ;  and  how  the  Jew  continued  to  deny  having 
eaten  the  loaf,  until  finally  the  Jew  was  punished 
for  his  greed,  and  Christ  went  on  His  way.] 

Concerning  the  sending  down  of  the  Table. — Said  God 
Most  High,  in  the  Koran,  When  the  disciples  said,  "  0 
Jesus,  son  of  Mary,  is  thy  Lord  able  to  cause  a  table 
to  come  down  from  heaven  ? "  He  said,  "  Trust  in  God 
if  you  are  believers."  The  learned  are  at  disagreement 
concerning  how  the  table  came  down,  and  its  character, 
and  what  was  upon  it.  Katada  says  in  a  tradition 
which  he  got  from  Jaber,  who  got  it  from  Omar,  who 
got  it  from  Yasar,  who  received  it  from  the  Apostle  of 
God  (upon  him  be  prayers  and  peace) :  The  table  came 
down,  and  upon  it  was  bread  and  meat,  and  this  was 
because  they  asked  Jesus  for  food  to  eat,  which  would 
not  prove  insufficient.  He  said,  "  I  wdll  do  it,  and  it 
will  abide  with  you  as  long  as  you  do  not  hide  it  or 
conceal  it;  but  if  you  do  that,  it  will  punish  you." 
And  the  first  day  had  not  passed  by  when  they  began 


94  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

to  deceive  and  hide  of  it ;  and  some  of  the  traditions 
relate  that  they  stole  of  it,  for  they  said,  It  will  not 
come  down  always.  So  the  table  was  taken  up,  and 
those  who  deceived  were  turned  into  apes  and  swine. 
And  Ibn  'Abbas  said  that  Jesus  said,  "  0  Children  of 
Israel,  fast  ye  for  thirty  days,  and  then  ask  God 
whatsoever  you  wish,  and  He  will  give  it  to  you."  So 
they  fasted  thirty  days,  and  when  they  were  ended 
they  said,  "  0  Jesus,  whenever  we  work  for  anybody 
and  we  finish  his  job,  he  feeds  us.  Behold  we  fasted 
to  God,  and  we  are  hungry ;  now  ask  God  that  He 
make  a  table  come  down  to  us  from  heaven."  Then 
Jesus  put  on  sackcloth  and  sprinkled  Himself  with 
ashes  and  called  upon  God  Most  High,  and  said,  "  0 
God,  our  Lord,  cause  to  come  down  to  us  a  table  from 
heaven."  Then  the  angels  brought  the  table,  upon 
which  were  seven  loaves  and  seven  fishes,  and  they 
placed  it  between  their  hands  and  they  ate  of  it  from 
the  first  to  the  last.  'Atta  the  son  of  Ibn  Saib  relates 
that  when  the  table  came  down  to  the  children  of 
Israel  it  contained  all  manner  of  food  except  meat. 
'Attiah  al  'Ufi  said  that  a  big  fish  came  down  from 
heaven  in  which  was  the  taste  of  all  kinds  of  food. 
Katada  said  that  when  the  table  came  down  from 
heaven  it  had  on  it  the  fruits  of  paradise,  and  it  came 
down  every  morning  and  every  night  wherever  they 
happened  to  be,  like  the  manna  and  the  quails  to  the 
children  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness.  Wahab  said :  God 
made  a  barley  loaf  to  come  down  and  two  fishes,  and 


DEATH,  ASCENSION,  AND  RETURN        95 

this  was  sufficient  for  all  of  them.  Some  would  come 
and  eat  and  depart  satisfied,  and  others  would  follow 
them  and  eat,  until  they  had  all  eaten  and  there  was 
food  remaining.  Kaab  said:  Verily  the  table  came 
down  from  heaven,  upside  down,  and  the  angels  flew 
with  it  between  heaven  and  earth,  and  all  kinds  of 
meat  and  food  were  on  it.  Makatal  and  Kalbi  said 
that  God  heard  Jesus  (upon  Him  be  peace),  and  said, 
"  Verily,  I  will  make  a  table  come  down  to  you  as  you 
have  desired,  and  whosoever  eats  of  this  food  and  does 
not  believe  in  Me,  I  will  make  him  an  example  and  a 
curse  to  those  that  follow  after."  They  said,  "  We  are 
agreed."  So  He  called  Simon,  and  he  was  the  best  of 
the  apostles,  and  He  said  to  him,  "  Have  you  any  food  ? " 
Simon  said,  "  I  have  two  small  fishes  and  six  loaves." 
And  He  said,  "  Give  them  to  me."  So  Jesus  cut  them  up 
into  tiny  pieces,  and  said,  "  Sit  down  upon  the  grass ; " 
and  they  sat  down  in  companies  of  ten.  Then  Jesus 
arose  and  called  upon  God  Most  High,  and  He 
answered  Him  and  sent  the  blessing  upon  it,  and  the 
bread  became  loaves,  and  the  fish  became  whole  fish. 
Then  Jesus  got  up  and  walked  about,  and  threw  before 
each  company  handfuls.  Then  He  said,  "Eat,  in  the 
name  of  God."  And  the  food  increased  until  they  all 
had  a  great  sufficiency ;  and  there  was  food  remaining, 
and  the  number  of  people  was  five  thousand  and  over. 
Then  the  people  said,  "We  have  borne  witness  that 
Thou  art  the  servant  of  God  and  His  apostle." 

Then  at  another  time  they  asked  Him,  and  God  sent 


96  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

down  five  loaves  and  two  fishes,  and  He  did  with  them 
as  He  did  at  the  first.  And  when  the  people  went 
back  to  their  villages  and  spread  this  report,  some  of 
those  who  had  not  observed  it  laughed  and  said,  "  Woe 
be  unto  you ;  verily.  He  hath  bewitched  your  eyes." 
So  those  to  whom  God  wished  good,  retained  their 
sight;  and  those  to  whom  He  wished  punishment, 
returned  unto  their  unbelief  and  were  changed  into 
monkeys  and  swine. 

'Atta  bin  Abi  Eabah  relates  that  no  one  followed 
Jesus  who  was  His  equal ;  and  He  never  scolded  an 
orphan;  and  He  never  laughed  immoderately;  and 
He  never  even  drove  a  fly  from  off  His  face ;  and  He 
never  broke  a  promise  once  given ;  ^  and  He  never 
was  frivolous.  And  when  the  disciples  asked  that  He 
should  make  a  table  come  down.  He  said,  "  0  God,  send 
down  upon  us  a  table  from  heaven,  and  furnish  us  with 
food  upon  it  that  we  may  eat,  for  Thou  art  the  best  of 
providers."  Then  a  large,  red,  covered  dish  came  down 
between  two  clouds,  a  cloud  above  it  and  a  cloud 
below  it ;  and  they  were  looking  at  it.  And  it  came 
down  slowly  until  it  came  in  their  presence.  Then 
Jesus  wept  and  said,  "  0  God,  make  me  of  the  thankful 
ones ;  and  make  it  a  mercy  to  us,  and  do  not  make 
it  an  example  and  a  punishment."  And  when  they 
looked  upon  it,  they  saw  a  sight  which  no  one  had 
seen  before,  and  they  never  smelled  a  meal  better  than 

*  The  text  here  is  very  obscure  ;  this  is  the  best  rendering  I  could 
find. 


DEATH,  ASCENSION,  AND  RETURN        97 

this  meal.  Then  Jesus  said  to  them,  "  Let  the  best  of 
you  in  good  works  uncover  the  dish  and  say  grace  and 
eat  from  it."  Then  said  Simon,  the  pale  one,  the  chief 
of  the  apostles,  "  You  are  the  one  to  do  it  rather  than 
we."  Then  Jesus  got  up  and  performed  the  ablution, 
and  prayed  a  long  prayer  and  wept  very  much.  Then 
He  took  off  the  cloth  cover  and  said,  "  In  the  Name  of 
God,  the  best  of  Providers."  And  behold,  it  was  a  fish, 
broiled,  without  scales  and  without  bones ;  overflowing 
with  oil ;  and  at  its  head  was  a  pot  of  salt,  and  at  its 
tail  some  vinegar,  and  around  it  all  sorts  of  vegetables 
except  leeks.  And  there  were  also  five  loaves  of  bread : 
upon  one  of  them  there  were  olives,  and  upon  another 
was  honey;  upon  another,  butter;  upon  the  fourth, 
cheese ;  and  upon  the  fifth,  salted  meat.  And  Simon 
said,  "  0  Spirit  of  God,  is  this  food  from  this  world  or 
from  the  other  world  ? "  Jesus  said, "  What  ye  see  is  not 
the  food  of  this  world  nor  of  the  other  world,  but  God 
has  created  it  by  His  mighty  power ;  eat,  in  accordance 
with  your  request,  as  much  as  ye  like,  and  there  will 
be  enough  for  you."  Then  they  said,  "  0  Spirit  of  God, 
show  us  another  miracle  beside  this."  And  Jesus  said, 
"O  fish,  live,  by  permission  of  God."  Then  the  fish 
shook  itself,  and  its  scales  returned  upon  it,  and  its 
bones,  and  they  were  terrified.  Said  Jesus,  "  Why  ask  a 
thing  which,  when  I  give,  you  do  not  like  ?  But  I  do 
not  wish  to  frighten  you ;  O  fish,  go  back  as  you  were, 
by  permission  of  God."  And  the  fish  returned  to  its 
broiled  state  as  it  was.  Then  they  said,  "  0  Spirit  of 
7 


98  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

God,  you  be  the  first  to  eat  from  it,  and  then  we  will 
eat."     Jesus  said,  "  God  forbid  that  I  should  eat,  but 
those  who  have  asked  for  it  shall  eat  it."     And  they 
were  afraid  to  eat  from  it,  so  Jesus  invited  the  poor, 
and  the  sick,  and  the  lepers,  and  the  maimed,  and  the 
halt,   and  said   to   them,  "Eat  that   which   God   has 
provided  for  you,  and  may  you  have  good  health  and 
the  others  punishment."    And  those  that  ate  of  it  were 
thirteen  hundred  men  and  women,  of  the  poor  and 
needy,  and  the  sick  and  the  lepers,  and  all  of  them 
were   filled.     And   Jesus   looked   upon   the   fish,   and 
behold,  it  was  as  it  was  before  when   it  came  down 
from  heaven.     Then  the  table  flew  back  while  they 
were   looking,  until   it  disappeared  from  them.     And 
none  of  those  that  were  sick  on  that  day  ate  from  it 
but  they  got  well,  and  the  weak  became  strong ;  and 
no  poor  man  but  became  rich,  and  remained  so  until 
his  death.     So  the  disciples  and  those  who  did  not  eat 
repented.     And  it  came  to   pass   that  when  it  came 
down,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  small  and  the  great, 
men  and   women,  crowded  together  round  it;  and  it 
came  down  for  forty  mornings ;  but  when  the  shadows 
lengthened,  it  went  up  again  while  they  beheld,  and 
disappeared   from   their    sight.      And  it   came   down 
irregularly :  one  day  it  would  come  and  another  day 
not,  like  the  camel  of  Thamud.     And  God  revealed  to 
Jesus,  "  Surely  I  have  prepared  my  table  and  my  food 
for  the  poor,  not  for  the  rich."     And  this  did  not  please 
the  rich,  so  that  they  doubted  and  made  men  to  doubt, 


DEATH,  ASCENSION,  AND  RETURN        99 

and  they  said,  "  Do  you  really  think  a  table  came  down 
from  heaven  ? "  Then  Jesus  said  to  them,  "  Ye  have 
perished,  and  deserve  the  punishment  of  God."  And 
God  Most  High  revealed  to  Jesus,  "  Truly  I  have  laid 
two  conditions  upon  those  that  belie  my  miracle,  if 
they  continue  to  disbelieve  after  it  comes  down  to 
them,  and  I  will  punish  them  with  a  severe  punishment. 
Then  Jesus  said,  "  If  you  punish  them,  they  are  your 
servants ;  and  if  you  forgive  them,  you  are  the  mighty 
and  wise."  So  God  changed  three  hundred  and  thirty 
of  them  in  one  night;  men  who  were  with  their 
families  in  bed ;  and  when  they  arose  in  the  morning 
they  were  swine,  wandering  about  in  the  streets  and 
among  the  sewers  and  eating  filth.  And  when  the 
people  saw  this,  they  were  terrified  at  Jesus,  the  son 
of  Mary,  and  they  wept,  and  the  friends  of  those  who 
were  changed  into  swine  also  wept.  And  when  the 
swine  saw  Jesus,  they  wept,  and  they  went  round 
about  Him;  and  Jesus  called  them  by  their  names, 
one  after  the  other,  and  they  wept  and  wagged  their 
heads  and  were  not  able  to  speak.  And  they  lived 
three  days  and  then  died. 

And  among  His  characteristics  was  His  being  taken 
up  into  heaven.  When  God  said,  "  0  Jesus,  verily,  I 
will  cause  you  to  die,  and  will  raise  you  to  myself  and 
will  purify  you  above  those  who  disbelieve"  (the 
Koran).  And  their  saying,  "Verily  we  have  killed 
the  Messiah,  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary,  the  apostle  of 
God ;  but  they  did   not   kill   Him,  and  they  did  not 


100  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

crucify  Him,  but,"  etc.,  until  the  Koran  verse  says, 
"But  God  raised  Him  to  Himself,  and  God  is  Most 
Mighty  and  Wise."  Concerning  these  Koran  verses, 
Kalbi  says  that  Jesus  (upon  whom  be  peace)  met  a 
mob  of  Jews;  and  when  they  saw  Him,  they  said, 
"  There  comes  the  sorcerer,  the  son  of  the  sorceress ; " 
and  they  thrust  out  Him  and  His  mother.  And  when 
Jesus  saw  that,  He  called  to  God  and  said,  "  0  God, 
Thou  art  my  Lord,  and  I  am  of  Thy  Spirit,  and  by 
Thy  word  am  I  created ;  and  I  did  not  come  to  them 
on  my  own  account.  0  God,  curse  them  that  curse 
me  and  curse  my  mother."  And  God  answered  His 
prayer,  and  changed  those  who  cursed  Him  and  His 
mother  into  swine.  And  when  the  chief  of  the  Jews 
saw  that,  he  was  terrified  and  affrighted,  and  the 
Jews  agreed  that  Jesus  should  be  killed.  So  they 
collected  together  on  a  certain  day,  and  began  to 
ask  Him  questions,  but  He  said  to  them,  "  0  company 
of  Jews,  verily  God  hates  you."  Then  they  hated 
Him  because  of  that  saying,  with  a  strong  hatred, 
and  gathered  together  to  murder  Him.  Then  God 
Most  High  sent  Gabriel  (upon  whom  be  peace),  who 
caused  Him  to  enter  into  a  hovel  and  concealed  Him 
on  the  roof.  Then  God  Most  High  lifted  Him  from 
its  parapet.  Then  the  chief  of  the  Jews  commanded 
one  of  his  men  who  was  called  Phelatanus,  that  he 
should  enter  the  hovel  and  kill  Him.  And  when 
Phelatanus  entered  he  did  not  see  Him,  and  he 
remained  behind  a  long   time,  so   they  thought   that 


DEATH,  ASCENSION,  AND  RETURN       101 

he  was  killing  Him.  Then  God  made  him  appear 
like  Jesus,  and  when  he  came  out  they  thought  he 
was  Jesus  and  they  killed  him  and  crucified  him. 

Wahab  relates  that  Jesus,  when  God  Most  High 
made  Him  know  that  He  was  about  to  leave  the 
world,  was  terrified  at  death  and  in  great  doubts,  so 
He  called  together  the  disciples  and  made  them  a 
meal ;  and  He  said  to  them,  Stay  with  me  this  night, 
for  I  have  need  of  you.  And  when  they  came  to  Him 
that  night,  He  gave  them  a  supper  and  stood  up  to 
serve  them ;  and  when  they  had  finished  the  meal. 
He  washed  their  hands,  and  gave  them  commandments 
and  wiped  their  hands  with  His  garment.  And  this 
seemed  strange  to  them,  and  they  despised  Him.  Then 
He  said  to  them,  "  Unless  you  return  the  thing  which 
I  have  done,  I  have  no  part  in  you  and  you  have  no 
part  in  me."  And  He  repeated  this,  and  when  He  had 
finished  He  said  to  them,  "  What  I  have  done  to  you 
this  night  by  serving  you  with  food  and  washing  your 
hands  with  my  hand,  has  not  been  except  that  ye 
might  be  equals  on  my  account ;  for  ye  see  that  I  am 
best  among  you.  Do  not  therefore  be  proud  the  one 
above  the  other,  but  let  every  one  humble  himself  for 
the  other,  and  give  up  his  own  will  for  the  others,  as 
I  have  given  up  my  will  for  you.  But  in  regard  to 
the  need  which  I  said  I  felt  for  you,  my  request  is 
that  you  call  upon  God  for  me  and  persevere  in  your 
prayer  that  He  may  put  off  my  time  of  death."  And 
when  they  arranged  themselves  for  prayer  and  desired 


102  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

to  persevere,  God  sent  upon  them  sleep,  so  that  they 
were  not  able  to  pray.  Then  Jesus  began  to  awaken 
them  and  to  say,  "  God  be  praised !  can  you  not  be 
patient  for  a  single  night  and  help  me  in  it  ? "  And 
they  said,  "  By  God,  we  do  not  know  what  is  the  matter 
with  us.  We  were  anxious  to  keep  awake  the  night, 
but  we  were  unable  to  keep  awake ;  and  whenever  we 
wished  to  pray,  some  one  prevented  it."  Then  Jesus 
said,  "  The  shepherd  is  going  away  and  the  sheep  will 
stay  behind."  And  He  continued  to  speak  words  of 
this  sort  concerning  Himself.  Then  He  said,  "  Verily, 
one  of  you  will  disbelieve  in  me  before  the  cock 
crows  three  times ;  and  one  of  you  will  sell  me  for 
a  few  dirhems,  and  then  he  will  devour  his  hire." 
Then  they  went  out  and  scattered,  and  the  Jews 
were  seeking  Him ;  and  they  took  Simon,  one  of  the 
disciples,  and  said,  "This  is  one  of  His  companions." 
Then  he  became  anxious  and  said,  "  I  am  not  of  His 
companions,"  and  they  left  him.  Then  another  took 
hold  of  him  in  the  same  way;  then  he  heard  the 
voice  of  the  cock  and  wept,  for  it  made  him  sorrowful. 
When  it  was  morning  one  of  the  disciples  came  to 
those  Jews  and  said  to  them,  "What  will  you  give  me 
if  I  indicate  to  you  where  He  is  ? "  And  they  agreed 
with  him  for  thirty  dirhems;  and  he  took  them  and 
showed  them  where  Jesus  was.  So  they  took  Him 
and  bound  Him  with  ropes  and  led  Him  out;  and 
while  they  were  leading  Him,  they  kept  saying,  "  Thou 
art  He  that  didst  raise  the  dead,  and  cure  the  blind 


DEATH,  ASCENSION,  AND  RETURN      103 

and  the  lepers,  now  why  cannot  you  loosen  yourself 
from  these  ropes?"  And  they  spat  upon  Him  and 
put  thorns  upon  Him ;  and  they  erected  the  wood  to 
crucify  Him  upon  it.  And  when  they  came  to  crucify 
Him  upon  the  tree,  the  earth  was  darkened,  and  God 
sent  angels,  and  they  descended  between  them  and 
between  Jesus;  and  God  cast  the  likeness  of  Jesus 
upon  him  who  had  betrayed  Him,  and  his  name  was 
Judas.  And  they  crucified  him  in  His  stead,  and  they 
thought  that  they  crucified  Jesus.  Then  God  made 
Jesus  to  die  for  three  hours,  and  then  raised  Him  up 
to  heaven ;  and  this  is  the  meaning  of  the  Koran  verse, 
"  Verily,  I  will  cause  Thee  to  die,  and  raise  Thee  unto 
me,  and  purify  Thee  above  those  who  disbelieve." 

And  when  he  who  resembled  Jesus  was  crucified, 
Mary  his  mother  came,  and  another  woman  whom 
Jesus  had  cured  of  possession ;  and  they  wept  at  the 
feet  of  the  one  who  was  crucified.  Then  Jesus  came 
to  them  and  said,  "  For  whom  are  ye  weeping  ? "  And 
they  said,  "For  Thee."  Then  He  said,  "Truly  God 
Most  High  hath  lifted  me  up  and  no  evil  has  befallen 
me.     Verily,  this  person  only  resembled  me  to  them." 

And  Makatal  said :  Verily,  the  Jews  appointed  a 
man  to  keep  guard  over  Jesus,  and  to  go  wherever 
He  went;  and  when  Jesus  went  up  a  mountain,  an 
angel  came  and  lifted  Him  up  to  heaven.  Then 
God  made  the  man  who  watched  Him  resemble  Jesus, 
and  the  Jews  thought  that  it  was  Jesus ;  so  they  took 
him.     And  he  kept  on  saying,  "  I  am  not  Jesus ;  I  am 


104  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

So  and  So,  the  son  of  So  and  So ; "  but  they  would  not 
believe  him,  and  they  killed  and  crucified  him.  Katada 
said  :  It  has  been  related  that  the  Prophet  of  God,  Jesus, 
said  to  His  companions,  "  Which  of  you  is  willing  to 
take  my  form,  and  he  will  be  killed."  Then  a  man 
of  the  crowd  said,  "  I,  0  Prophet  of  God."  So  he  was 
killed,  and  God  prevented  them  from  killing  Jesus 
and  lifted  Him  up  to  Himself.  And  it  is  said  that 
the  man  who  resembled  Jesus  and  was  crucified  in 
His  place  was  an  Israelite  called  Ashua  (this  is  the 
common  form  of  Joshua,  or  Jesus),  the  son  of  Kandir. 
And  God  knows  best. 

An  account  of  the  Descent  of  Jesus  from  Heaven  seven 
days  after  His  Ascension. — Said  Wahab  and  others  of 
those  who  are  learned  in  books :  When  God  lifted  up 
Jesus,  He  tarried  in  heaven  seven  days.  Then  God  said 
to  Him,  "  Your  enemies,  the  Jews,  are  trying  to  prevent 
your  covenant  with  your  companions,  so  go  down  to 
them  and  give  them  commandment ;  and  go  to  Mary 
Magdalene,  for  no  one  is  weeping  for  you  as  much  as 
she  is,  and  no  one  is  sorrowful  for  you  as  much  as  she 
is.  So  go  down  to  her,  and  tell  her  that  she  will  be 
the  first  to  meet  you ;  and  instruct  her  to  gather 
together  your  disciples,  so  that  you  may  send  them 
throughout  the  earth,  calling  men  to  the  worship  of 
God." 

Now  the  story  of  Mary  Magdalene  is  that  she 
belonged  to  the  children  of  Israel  from  a  little  village 
of   Antioch,   called   Magdala;    and   she   was   a   pious 


DEATH,  ASCENSION,  AND  RETURN      105 

woman,  but  she  had  a  flow  of  blood  and  was  not 
purified  from  it.  So  the  learned  of  Israel  tried  to 
cure  her,  but  she  was  not  cured;  she  only  concealed 
her  sickness  from  them.  And  when  she  heard  of  the 
coming  of  Jesus  (upon  Him  be  peace),  and  how  God 
cured  people  at  His  hand,  she  approached  Him,  hoping 
for  a  cure.  When  she  saw  Jesus  and  the  dignity  with 
which  God  had  clothed  Him,  she  was  ashamed,  and 
came  up  from  behind  and  touched  His  back.  Then 
Jesus  said,  "  Some  one  hath  touched  me  for  a  cure ; 
and  God  hath  granted  her  her  desire  and  purified  her 
with  my  purity." 

So  when  God  commanded  Jesus  to  come  down  to 
her  seven  days  after  His  ascension,  He  came  down 
upon  her,  and  a  mountain  burned  with  light  when  He 
came  down.  So  the  disciples  gathered  together,  and 
He  sent  them  out  into  the  world  to  call  men  to  God. 
Then  God  took  Him  up,  and  clothed  Him  with  feathers 
and  covered  Him  with  light ;  and  deprived  Him  of  all 
desire  for  food  and  drink.  And  He  flies  with  the 
angels  around  the  throne.  So  He  is  human  and 
angelic,  and  earthly  and  heavenly. 

And  the  disciples  scattered  as  He  had  commanded 
them,  [and  that  night  on  which  He  came  down  is  a 
night  of  glory  with  the  Christians.  Now  they  say  that 
Peter  turned  his  face  to  Rome;  and  Andrew  and 
Matthew  to  the  country  of  the  cannibals ;  and  Thomas 
and  Levi  to  the  land  of  the  East ;  and  Philip  and  Jude 
to   Kairwan   and    Africa;    and    John    to   Ephesus,   a 


106  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

village  of  the  companions  of  the  cave ;  and  James  and 
his  brother  to  Jerusalem,  which  is  the  Holy  Land; 
and  Bartholomew  to  Arabia,  that  is  Hejaz  ;  and  Simon 
to  the  land  of  Barbar.  And  every  one  of  the  disciples 
when  he  came  to  the  people  to  whom  he  was  sent, 
spoke  in  their  language. 


Here  ends  the  account  of  Eth-Thalabi.  It  needs  no 
comment.  Other  accounts  of  the  death,  resurrection, 
and  return  of  Jesus  Christ,  however,  add  new  legends 
about  Jesus  and  put  new  touches  to  the  Moslem 
caricature  of  the  Christ.  Karmani  relates  that  Jesus 
commended  His  mother  at  the  time  of  His  death  to 
the  care  of  two  men,  namely,  Simon  and  John ;  and 
He  said  to  them,  "  Take  care  of  her,  and  do  not  leave 
her  at  all."  Then  God  lifted  Him  up  and  clothed  Him 
with  feathers,  etc.  Mary  lived  after  Jesus  was  taken 
up  into  heaven  six  years,  and  her  age  was  fifty-three 
years.  Then  she  died  and  was  buried  in  the  Church 
of  the  Incarnation  in  Jerusalem.  But  it  is  also  related 
by  Abu-'l-Leeth,  the  Samarkandi,  that  Mary  died 
before  Jesus  was  taken  up  into  heaven,  and  that  Jesus 
attended  her  funeral  Himself. 

Abu  Huraira  says  that  the  apostle  of  God  (upon 
Him  be  peace)  said:  All  the  prophets  are  brethren. 
Although  their  mothers  are  different,  their  religion  is 
one,  and  I  am  the  nearest  of  all  men  to  Jesus,  because 
there  was  no  prophet  between  Him  and  me.  And  the 
days  will  come  when  He  will  come  down  upon  you  and 


DEATH,  ASCENSION,  AND  RETURN      107 

judge  with  a  righteous  judgment,  for  He  will  come 
down  to  my  people ;  and  when  you  see  Him  you  will 
know  Him,  for  He  is  a  man  neither  tall  nor  short, 
between  red  and  white,  with  dishevelled  hair  as  if  it 
rained  from  His  head.  And  He  will  break  the  Cross, 
and  kill  the  swine,  and  take  away  the  poll-tax ; 
property  will  be  plentiful,  and  He  will  grant  peace,  and 
fight  for  the  religion  of  Islam  until  God  shall  destroy 
in  His  day  the  people  of  every  other  faith  except 
Islam,  and  worship  shall  be  God's  alone.  And  in  His 
day  God  will  destroy  the  anti- Christ,  who  will  be  slain 
by  His  hand  and  those  of  His  servants ;  and  there  will 
be  safety  in  the  land,  so  that  the  lion  will  herd  with 
camels  and  the  leopard  with  kine,  and  the  wolves 
with  the  sheep;  and  little  children  shall  play  with 
serpents,  and  they  will  not  harm  them.  Then  Jesus 
will  tarry  in  the  earth  forty  years,  will  marry  a  wife 
from  the  daughters  of  Ghassan  and  will  have  children. 
Then  He  will  die  in  Medina,  and  be  buried  next  to  the 
grave  of  Omar  bin  Khitab  (may  God  be  pleased  with 
him),  and  blessed  be  Abu  Bakr  and  Omar,  who  will  be 
raised  in  the  resurrection  between  two  prophets. 

In  Burton's  Pilgrimage  to  El  Medina  and  Mecca,  he 
refers  to  this  tradition  in  these  words,  and  gives  a 
sketch  of  the  Hujrah. 

"  It  is  popularly  asserted  that  in  the  Hujrah  there  is  now  spare 
place  for  only  a  single  grave,  reserved  for  Isa  bin  Maryam  after 
his  second  coming.  The  historians  of  Al-Islam  are  full  of  tales 
proving  that  though  many  of  their  earlier  saints,  as  Osman  the 


108  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

Caliph  and  Hasan  the  Imam,  were  desirous  of  being  buried 
there  ;  and  that  although  Ayishah,  to  whom  the  room  belonged, 
willingly  acceded  to  their  wishes,  son  of  man  has  not  yet  been 
able  to  occupy  it." 

"The  Hujrah,  or  tomb  in  which  Mohammed  died  and  was 
buried,  was  originally  the  apartment  of  'Ayesha,  the  Prophet's 
favourite  wife.  At  present  it  consists  of  an  irregular  square  of 
fifty-five  feet,  separated  from  the  mosque  of  the  Prophet  by  a 
passage  about  twenty-six  feet  wide.  Inside  the  Hujrah  there 
are  three  tombs,  supposedly  those  of  Mohammed,  Abu  Bakr, 
and  Omar,  surrounded  by  a  stone  wall,  or  some  say  by  strong 
planking.  "Whatever  the  material  may  be,  it  is  covered  by  a 
curtain,  and  the  outer  railing  is  separated  by  a  darker  passage 
from  the  inner,  and  is  of  iron  work  painted  green  and  gold. 
Above  the  Hujrah  is  a  green  dome  surmounted  by  a  large  gilt 
crescent.  There  is  much  confusion  among  Moslems  in  regard 
to  the  whole  arrangement  of  this  grave  chamber.  Fatimah, 
the  Prophet's  daughter,  is  supposed  to  be  buried  in  a  separate 
part  of  the  building.  Mohammed  is  said  to  be  stretched  full 
length  on  his  right  side,  with  the  right  palm  supporting  the 
right  cheek  and  his  face  toward  Mecca.  Close  behind  him  Abu 
Bakr  is  placed,  whose  face  fronts  Mohammed's  shoulder ;  then 
Omar,  who  occuj^ies  the  same  position  with  respect  to  his  pre- 
decessor. The  space  left  for  the  grave  of  Jesus  when  He  returns 
to  earth,  occupies  the  same  relation  described  above,  to  the 
grave  of  Omar,  as  can  be  seen  on  Burton's  sketch. 

"  There  are  reasons  for  doubting  whether  the  prophet  is  really 
buried  in  the  mosque  raised  to  his  honour.  No  less  than  twelve 
arguments  can  be  given  against  the  supj)Osition.i  The  garden 
annexed  to  the  tomb  is  called  ar  Raudha.  The  Hujrah  has  four 
gates,  all  kept  locked  except  the  fourth  one,  which  admits  only 
the  officers  in  charge  of  the  treasure,  the  eunuchs  who  sweep  the 
floor,  light  the  lamps,  and  carry  away  the  presents  thrown  into 
the  enclosure  by  Moslem  devotees.  It  is  commonly  asserted 
that  many  early   Moslem   saints  and   warriors  desired   to  be 

^  See  Zwemer,  Arabia  the  Cradle  of  Islam,  pp.  47,  48. 


PLAN  OF  THE  HARAM 

oil 

THE  PROPHET'S  MOSQUE  AT  AL-MADINAH. 


Sf(p' 


or 
O        O        0 
Hypoit]/tt 
O        O        O 

of  lh» 
O        O        O 

Baft 
O       O        O 
Rahmah 
O       O       O 

O  O  O 

O  O  O 

O  O  O 

O  O  o 


Stept 


Tht 
Lady  Fatirua 
Gardtn 


Uonr 


©PrcphfC,  ^*'W/ 


Hypcrthrai  Court 


Upright  ptanking, 
behind  wltxch  prayerl 
are  recited 
Farsh  el  Hajar,  the  fiaf^^ed  passa^f 


RiumU 

o         o 


o         o 

HypoilyU 

O  O  O 

o/  the 

o         o         o 

Dab  cl  r^isi 

o        o         o 

(<i/  i*'om«nj 
0  O  O 


THE  PLACE  WHERE  JESUS  WILL  BE  BURIED. 


(From  Burton's  "Pilgrimage  to  Madinah  and  Mecca.") 


DEATH,  ASCENSION,  AND  RETURN       109 

buried  in  the  remaining  space  next  to  the  grave  of  Omar,  but 
that  by  Mohammed's  own  wish  it  was  reserved  for  'Isa  on  his 
second  coming  and  death.  When  Medina  was  taken  by  the 
Wahabis  in  1804,  their  chief  stripped  the  tombs  of  all  valuables 
and  proclaimed  that  all  the  prayers  and  exclamations  addressed 
to  it  were  idolatrous.  At  present,  however,  many  superstitious 
practices  are  indulged  in,  and  Medina  is  almost  as  much  a 
centre  of  pilgrimage  as  Mecca. 

"All  Moslem  pilgrims,  therefore,  know  of  the  place  where 
Jesus  the  Messiah  is  to  be  buried."  ^ 

We  are  indebted  to  C.  H.  A.  Field  for  the  following 
account  of  the  trial  of  our  Lord  before  the  Sanhedrin 
and  Pilate.  It  occurs  in  the  Dabistan  of  Mohsin  Fani 
(a.d.  1647),  and  resembles  the  Gospel  narrative  more 
than  the  earlier  traditions. 

"  When  Jesus  appeared,  the  high  priest  said, '  We  charge  Thee 
upon  Thy  oath  by  the  living  God,  say  art  Thou  the  Son  of  God  ? ' 
The  blessed  and  Holy  Lord  Jesus  replied  to  him,  *  I  am  what 
thou  hast  said.  Verily,  We  say  unto  you,  you  shall  see  the  Son 
of  Man  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  and  He  shall  descend  in 
the  clouds  of  Heaven.'  They  said,  '  Thou  utterest  a  blasphemy, 
because,  according  to  the  creed  of  the  Jews,  God  never  descends 
in  the  clouds  of  Heaven.' 

"  Isaiah  the  prophet  has  announced  the  birth  of  Jesus  in  words 
the  translation  of  which  is  as  follows  :  *  A  branch  from  the  root 
of  I'shai  shall  spring  up,  and  from  this  branch  shall  come  forth 
a  flower  in  which  the  Spirit  of  God  shall  dwell ;  verily,  a  virgin 
shall  be  pregnant  and  shall  bring  forth  a  Son.'  I'shai  is  the 
name  of  the  father  of  David. 

"  When  they  had  apprehended  Jesus,  they  spat  upon  His 
blessed  face  and  smote  Him.     Isaiah  had  predicted  it.     *  I  shall 

1  This  tradition  is  given  as  reliable  by  Ibn  ;Khaldoon  {3TuTcadimet 
Ibn  Khaldoon,  Beirut  edition,  pp.  226,  227).  This  author  gives  the 
other  traditions  regarding  Christ's  return  in  the  same  form  as  above. 


110  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

give  up  My  body  to  the  smiters,  and  My  cheek  to  the  diggers  of 
wounds.  I  shall  not  turn  My  face  from  those  who  will  use 
bad  words  and  throw  spittle  upon  Me.'  When  Pilatus,  a  judge 
of  the  Jews,  scourged  the  Lord  Jesus  in  such  a  manner  that  His 
body  from  head  to  foot  became  but  one  wound,  so  was  it  as  Isaiah 
had  predicted.  '  He  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions  ;  I 
struck  Him  for  his  people.'  When  Pilatus  saw  that  the  Jews 
insisted  upon  the  death  and  crucifixion  of  Jesus,  he  said,  *  I  take 
no  part  in  the  blood  of  this  Man  ;  I  wash  my  hands  clean  of  His 
blood.'  The  Jews  answered,  '  His  blood  be  on  us  and  on  our 
children.'  On  that  account  the  Jews  are  oppressed  and  curbed 
down  in  retribution  of  their  iniquities.  When  they  had  placed 
the  cross  upon  the  shoulder  of  Jesus  and  led  Him  to  die,  a 
woman  wiped  with  the  border  of  her  garment  the  face,  full  of 
blood,  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Verily,  she  obtained  three  images  of 
it  and  carried  them  home  ;  the  one  of  these  images  exists  still  in 
Spain,  the  other  is  in  the  town  of  Milan  in  Italy,  and  the  third 
in  the  city  of  Rome." 

Later  accounts  like  these,  however,  are  evidently 
largely  based  on  the  Gospel  story  or  Christian  tradi- 
tions, and  are  neither  generally  known  nor  access- 
ible to  the  masses.  It  is  not  correct  to  quote  them 
as  belonging  to  the  common  stock  of  ideas  on  Jesus 
Christ.  The  masses  are  wholly  dependent  on  what 
the  Mullahs  teach,  and  these  do  not  read  historians 
nor  poets,  but  orthodox  tradition  and  the  Koran. 


THE  PERSON  AND  CHARACTER  OF 
JESUS  CHRIST 


111 


"Jesus  Christ  is  a  name  that  represents  the  most 
wonderful  story  and  the  profoundest  problem  on  the 
field  of  history — the  one  because  the  other.  There  is 
no  romance  so  marvellous  as  the  most  prosaic  version 
of  His  history.  The  Son  of  a  despised  and  hated  people, 
meanly  born,  humbly  bred,  without  letters,  without 
opportunity,  unbefriended,  never  save  for  one  brief  and 
fatal  moment  the  idol  of  the  crowd,  resisted  by  the 
religious  and  the  learned,  persecuted  unto  death  by  the 
priests,  destined  to  a  life  as  short  as  it  was  obscure, 
issuing  from  His  obscurity  only  to  meet  a  death  of  un- 
pitied  infamy.  He  yet,  by  means  of  His  very  sufferings 
and  His  cross,  enters  upon  a  throne  such  as  no  monarch 
ever  filled  and  a  dominion  such  as  no  Caesar  ever  exercised. 
He  leads  captive  the  civilised  peoples  ;  they  accept  His 
words  as  law,  though  they  confess  it  a  law  higher  than 
human  nature  likes  to  obey  ;  they  build  Him  churches, 
they  worship  Him,  they  praise  Him  in  songs,  interpret 
Him  in  philosophies  and  theologies  ;  they  deeply  love, 
they  madly  hate,  for  His  sake." — A.  M.  Fairbairn, 
Christ  in  Modern  Theology. 


112 


THE  PERSON  AND  CHARACTER   OF 
JESUS  CHRIST 

THE  chapters  that  preceded  have  clearly  shown  that 
Christ  has  a  place  in  Islam  as  one  of  the  greater 
Prophets,  and  that  the  Koran  gives  precious  glimpses 
of  the  Messiah's  greatness,  but  yet  falls  short  of  un- 
veiling his  glorious  perfection  and  Divine  majesty. 
Mohammed  leads  his  followers  to  the  portal,  but  he 
fails  to  open  the  door.  A  perusal  of  the  Koran  and 
of  the  traditions  on  the  part  of  any  sincere  Moslem 
who  tries  to  interpret  Jesus  Christ,  may  indeed  kindle 
the  flame  of  curiosity,  but  will  ever  leave  his  heart- 
longing  unsatisfied.  Yet  no  Moslem  who  reads  his 
book  can  escape  forming  some  opinion  of  Jesus  Christ, 
the  son  of  Mary,  and  therefore  of  giving  a  verdict  on 
His  person  and  character. 

This  chapter  is  intended  to  show  what  the  conclusion 
is  in  the  mind  of  the  average  Moslem  from  the  accounts 
already  given  in  regard  to  the  person  and  character  of 
Jesus  Christ.  It  sums  up  all  the  data  found  in 
Chapters  I-IV,  in  the  completed  idea  of  the  man 
8 


114  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

Jesus  Christ  as  He  stands  before  the  Moslem  mind 
and  heart.  The  chapters  that  precede  are  largely- 
historical:  in  this  we  attempt  dogmatic  treatment. 
And  yet  it  is  impossible  to  approach  the  subject  and 
use  Christian  terminology,  because  Islam  eliminates 
all  the  Cliristian  ideas  back  of  this  terminology,  by 
its  denials  and  contradictions. 

The  doctrine  of  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ  is  central, 
determinative,  and  supreme  in  Christian  theology.^  In 
dealing  with  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ  the  Church 
throughout  the  centuries  has  taught  that  He  was  very 
God  and  very  Man,  and  to  His  person  there  have 
always  been  ascribed,  according  to  the  teaching  of  the 
Bible,  the  threefold  office  of  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King. 
His  eternal  existence  as  the  Son  of  God,  His  wonderful 
humiliation  as  the  Son  of  man,  and  His  exaltation  in 
glory,  are  the  commonplaces  of  theology  and  the 
comfort  of  all  believers. 

Yet  no  Moslem  can  study  the  person  and  character 
of  Jesus  Christ  according  to  these  categories.  For  him 
they  do  not  exist.  In  considering  the  person  of  Jesus 
Christ  from  a  Moslem  standpoint,  we  must  first, 
therefore,  take  up  the  subject  negatively. 

I.  The  Moslem  idea  of  Christ,  as  of  God,  consists 
not  only  in  what  is  asserted  of  Him,  but  also,  and 
more  emphatically,  in  what  is  denied.  As  James 
Freeman  Clarke  remarks :  "  The  error  in  every  theory 

^  Fairbaim,  A.  M.,  The  Place  of  Christ  in  Modern  Theology. 
London,  1894,  passim. 


THE  PERSON  AND  CHARACTER  OF  JESUS    115 

is  usually  found  in  its  denials,  that  is,  its  limitations. 
What  it  sees  is  substantial  and  real ;  what  it  does  not 
see  is  a  mark  only  of  its  limited  vision."  ^  The  Koran 
denies  the  Deity  and  the  eternal  Sonship  of  Jesus 
Christ.  He  is  a  creature  like  Adam.  "  Verily,  Jesus 
is  as  Adam  in  the  sight  of  God.  He  created  him  of 
dust;  He  then  said  to  him,  Be,  and  he  was"  (Surah 
3 :  52).  Those  who  assert  that  Jesus  Christ  is  more 
than  human  are  infidels.  "The  Christians  say  that 
the  Messiah  is  the  Son  of  God.  God  fight  them  !  how 
they  lie!"  (Surah  9:  30).  Not  only  is  Jesus  Christ 
a  mere  creature,  but  He  is  not  essential  to  God  nor  to 
God's  plans  in  the  world.  "  Who  can  obtain  anything 
from  God  if  He  chose  to  destroy  the  Messiah,  the  son 
of  Mary,  and  His  mother  and  all  who  are  on  the  earth 
together  ? "  (Surah  5:19).  To  Moslems  a  considera- 
tion of  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ  begins  by  the 
assertion  that  He  was  only  a  man  among  men.^ 
"  Jesus  is  no  more  than  a  servant  whom  we  favoured, 
and  proposed  as  an  instance  of  divine  power  to  the 
children  of  Israel,  and,  if  we  pleased,  we  could  from 
yourself  bring  forth  angels  to  succeed  you  on  earth " 
(Surah  43 :  59). 

Nothing  so  arouses  the  hostility  of  the  Moslem  mind 
as  the  statement  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God. 
The  Mohammedan   ideas   and   misconceptions   of   the 

^  Quoted  in  The  Moslem  Doctrine  of  God,  p.  77. 

2  Cf.  the  refutation,  in  most  bitter  terms,  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity  in  Carletti's  translation  of  Idhar-ul-Hak^  vol.  i.  pp.  388- 
417. 


116  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

Trinity  are  more  fully  treated  elsewhere/  but  two 
passages  from  the  Koran  will  make  clear  how  import- 
ant this  denial  of  the  Trinity  is  as  regards  their 
doctrine  of  the  person  of  Jesus.  "They  say  the 
Merciful  has  taken  to  Himself  a  son — ye  have  brought 
a  monstrous  thing !  The  heavens  well-nigh  burst 
asunder  thereat,  and  the  earth  is  riven  and  the 
mountains  fall  down  broken,  that  they  attribute 
to  the  Merciful  a  son !  But  it  becomes  not  the 
Merciful  to  take  to  Himself  a  son"  (Surah  19: 
91-93).  "  Praise  belongs  to  God,  who  has  not  taken 
to  Himself  a  son  and  has  not  had  a  partner  in  His 
kingdom,  nor  had  a  patron  against  such  abasement" 
(Surah  17:  112). 

Whatever  the  Koran  and  tradition  may  state,  as  we 
have  already  seen  and  shall  see  afterwards,  concerning 
Jesus  Christ,  His  dignity,  His  sinlessness,  or  His  power 
to  work  miracles,  Moslems  do  not  distinguish  His 
person  in  any  way  as  to  His  nature  from  the  other 
prophets  who  came  before  Him.  The  pre-existence  of 
Christ  is  everywhere  denied,  while  Moslem  tradition 
is  full  of  stories  about  the  Light  of  Mohammed, 
created  before  all  things  and  existing  before  all 
worlds.2  It  seems  incredible  that  Islam,  while  im- 
puting to  Mohammed  that  which  he  never  asserted  of 

^  The  Moslem  Doctrine  of  God,  chapter  vi. 

2  See  liisan  al  Ayoon,  by  Burhan  ud  Diu  al  Halibi,  and  the  evidence 
collected  by  Koelle,  Mohammed  and  Mohammedanism,  pp.  246-252. 


Facsimile  of  Letter  from  a  Mullah  in  Chefoo, 
China  (1911), 
in  which  he  objects  to  the  doctrine  of  Christ's 
deity,  urges  that  Mohammed  is  superior  to  Christ  in 
every  respect,  and  that  the  fact  of  the  Virgin  birth 
does  not  necessarily  prove  the  superiority  of  Jesus, 
because  "Adam  had  neither  father  nor  mother,  and 
was  in  this  respect  superior  to  Jesus,  while  it  is  well 
known  that  even  scorpions  propagate  miraculously." 


THE  PERSON  AND  CHARACTER  OF  JESUS    117 

himself,  namely,  pre-existence,  should  deny  this  in 
connection  with  Jesus  Christ.^ 

The  bitter  attacks  of  Islam  on  Christianity  in  the 
Moslem  press  of  Egypt  and  of  India  nearly  always 
find  their  centre  in  the  Deity  and  the  atoning  work  of 
Jesus  Christ.  To  Christians  Jesus  Christ  is  God  and 
man ;  He  is  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King.  To  Moslems 
He  is  only  human,  and  while  they  admit  that  He 
is  a  Prophet,  His  kingship  and  His  priesthood  are 
neither  understood  nor  admitted.  Islam  is  a  religion 
without  a  priesthood,  without  a  clear  idea  of  the 
Atonement,  and  therefore  this  central  thought  in  the 
work  of  Jesus  Christ  is  absent  from  the  Moslem 
mind. 

Dr.  Sayous  calls  attention  to  the  absence  of  this 
idea  from  Mohammed's  own  mind  in  this  striking 
way:— 

"  En  un  mot,  Mahomet  n'a  pas  vu  le  p^che,  et  il  n'a 
pas  besoin  de  redemption.  II  a  mtoe  rendu  ses  dis- 
ciples de  tons  les  si^cles  presque  incurablement  rebelles 
k  cette  id^e.  C'est  pour  cela  que  le  monde  de  Tlslam 
est  sans  comparaison  celui  dans  lequel  la  foi  chr^tienne 
a  recrute  le  moins  de  proselytes.  La  doctrine  du  pech^ 
et  de  la  grace  est  comme  un  mur,  k  la  rencontre  duquel 
le  musulman  curieux  de  christianisme  se  detourne  en 
levant  les  ^paules  et  revient  sur  ses  pas."  ^ 

^  Carle tti's  Idhar-ul-Hak,  "Refutation  de  la  Trinite  par  les  paroles 
de  Jesus  Christ,  vol.  i.  pp.  396-417. 

-  Sayous,  Edouard,  J^sus  Christ  cCapres  Mahomet,  p.  64. 


118  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

We  are  not  surprised,  therefore,  that  the  Cross  is  still 
a  stumbling-block  to  most  of  Mohammed's  followers, 
as  it  was  to  Mohammed  himself. 

Eecent  Moslem  literature  of  every  sect  and  every 
school  of  thought  is  as  positive  in  its  rejection  of  tliese 
distinctively  Christian  doctrines  as  is  the  Koran  and 
orthodox  tradition.  A  missionary  in  Egypt  writes 
that  the  bitter  antagonism  of  learned  Moslems  to  the 
Deity  and  the  Cross  of  Christ  is  again  coming  to  the 
front.  As  a  rule,  Moslems  refrain  from  reviling  the 
Christ.  He  is  reverenced  among  them  as  a  Prophet, 
"but,"  says  Mr.  J.  Gordon  Logan,  "a  recent  writer, 
who  signed  himself  '  A  Moslem,'  set  aside  the  teaching 
of  the  Koran,  and  proceeded  to  prove  from  what  he 
called  'history'  the  true  character  of  Christ  and  His 
mother,  using  the  most  blasphemous  language  and 
casting  the  vilest  accusations  on  the  Son  of  God."  ^ 
Another  Moslem  distributed  broadcast  throughout 
Cairo  a  poem  of  which  the  following  is  a  free  transla- 
tion.2  It  was  headed,  "  A  Wonderful  Question  for  the 
People  of  the  Cross." 

"  You  who  worship  Jesus,  I  have  a  question  for  you,  and  can 

you  answer  it  ? 
If  Jesus  was  Almighty  God,  with  power  to  strike  terror  into  all 

men, 

^  J.  Gordon  Logan,  Leaflet,  Islam  defies  your  King!  Egypt 
General  Mission. 

^'*E1  Khalasat  el  Burhanieh  ti  Sahet  Dianet  el  Islamieh,"  by 
Mahmood  bin  Seyyid  'Ali  (Cairo,  1319),  contains  it  in  full,  with  com- 
ments. 


THE  PERSON  AND  CHARACTER  OF  JESUS     119 

Why  do  you  believe  that  the  Jews  could  make  him  endure  the 

agony  of  the  Cross  ? 
And  why  do  j^ou  believe  that  God  died,  and  was  buried  in  the  dust, 
And  sought  from   his   creatures   a  draught  of  water,  that  he 

might  quench  his  fiery  thirst  ? 
And  that  they  gave  him  instead  myrrh  and  vinegar,  a  nauseous 

mixture. 
So  that  he  threw  it  on  the  ground  because  he  could  not  take  it  ? 
And  that  he  died  a  miserable  death  in  an  agony  of  thirst  ? 
And  that  they  put  on  his  head  a  crown  of  thorns, 
So  frightful  that  it  could  turn  raven  locks  to  whiteness  ? 
And  that  the  blood  flowed  down  his  cheeks,  and  stained  his 

face  like  henna  1 
And  that  he  rode  on  a  donkey's  colt  to  save  himself  from  the 

toil  of  the  journey  ? 
You  say  too  that  Perez,  son  of  Tamar,  was  his  ancestor ; 
One  who  was  born  of  incest,  and  the  Lord  will  not  receive  a 

bastard  into  His  assembly. 
And  after  that  will  you  count  him  God,  and  not  be  in  grievous 

error  ? 
Nay,  he  is  only  one  of  the  creatures  of  God,  as  he  said  of  himself 

plainly  in  the  Book. 
And  if  he  was  God  as  you  suppose,  why  did  he  pray  to  be 

delivered  from  the  torment  1 
And  who  restored  his  Spirit  when  it  left  his  body  ? 
And  who  kept  the  world  in  its  state  until  he  came  back  from 

the  dead  ? 
Was  there  a  second  Lord  watching  its  affairs  ? 
Or  did  he  suffer  it  to  go  to  destruction  ? 
And  was  he  crucified  for  some  evil  he  had  done  ? 
Or  why  did  he  merit  the  punishment  ? 
And  did  the  Jews  do  well  when  they  crucified  him,  in  order 

that  you  might  be  saved  1 
Or  did  they  do  evil  that  you  might  be  delivered  ? 
An  extraordinary  thing ! 

And  if  you  say  that  they  did  well,  I  ask  you,  why 
Do  you  count  them  enemies  ? 


120  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

And  if  you  say  they  did  wrong,  as  they  crucified  God, 

And  this  is  fearful  sin, 

I  say,  why  was  it  wrong,  if  without  it  you  could  not  be  saved 
from  the  judgment  ? 

And  was  he  himself  pleased  with  the  crucifixion,  or  angry? 
Tell  me  truly. 

And  if  you  say  he  was  pleased  with  it  in  order  that  he  might 
atone  for  the  fault  of  the  repentant, 

I  say  that  Adam  sinned  and  repented  by  the  grace  of  God,  and 
God  forgave  him  (i.e.  without  atonement). 

You  therefore  lie  about  your  Lord  :  for  the  matter  is  plain  as  the 
Book  put  it  ; 

For  he  fled  from  his  cross,  and  wept  much  for  himself, 

And  prayed  to  the  God  of  heaven  : 

And  said, '  I  beseech  thee,  save  me  from  this  trial,' 

And  cried,  *Eli,  Eli,  why  do  you  leave  me  this  day  to  the 
torment  ? ' 

'  And  if  it  is  possible,  0  my  Creator,  to  save  me, 

Save  me,  0  best  of  Fathers.' 

And  this  is  a  proof  that  he  was  only  a  servant  of  the  Lord  with- 
out doubt. 

And  this  is  a  proof  that  you  lie  about  him, 

And  say  what  is  false. 

And  if  you  say  that  the  cross  was  forced  on  him  in  spite  of 
himself : 

Then  this  Almighty  God  is  not  Almighty,  for  he  hung  on  the 
Cross,  cursed  on  every  side  as  it  is  written. 

Do  not  blame  me  for  thus  putting  the  matter. 

Answer  my  questions. 

And  do  not  fail,  because  silence  in  this  is  a  disgrace  to  you. 

I  have  given  you  advice,  and  desire  only  that  it  may  profit 
you. 

For  myself,  I  will  die  a  firm  believer  in  the  religion  of  Moham- 
med, the  noblest  of  men. 

As  I  do  not  wish  to  see  the  horrors  of  the  day  of  Judgment."  ^ 

^  Quoted  in  Islam  defies  your  King  ! 


THE  PERSON  AND  CHARACTER  OF  JESUS    121 

Not  on  a  par  with  this  sort  of  popular  antagonism 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ  as  held 
by  Christians,  and  yet  equally  decisive  are  the  state- 
ments of  Seyyid  Ameer  Ali  of  Calcutta,  the  latest  and 
most  able  apologist  for  Islam :  "  So  far  as  the  divinity 
of  Christ  is  concerned,  one  can  almost  see  the  legend 
growing.     But  assuming  that  Jesus  made  use  of  the 
expressions  attributed  to  him,  do  they  prove  that  he 
claimed  to   be  'the    only-begotten    of    the   Father?' 
With   all  his  dreams  and  aspirations,   his    mind   was 
absolutely  exempt  from  those  pretensions  which  have 
been  fixed  on  him  by  his  over-zealous  followers.     That 
Jesus  ever  maintained  he  was  the  Son  of  God,  in  the 
sense  in  which   it   has   been   construed  by  Christian 
divines  and  apologists,  we  totally  deny."^ 

Here  we  should  notice  a  boastful  assertion  common 
among  Mohammedans  when  arguing  with  Christians, 
that  they  honour  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  more  than 
Christians  do.  After  their  deliberate  and  systematic 
lowering  of  His  dignity  and  depreciation  of  all  His 
claims  and  work  as  given  in  the  Gospel,  such  state- 
ments seem  strange,  but  most  workers  among  Moham- 
medans have  been  surprised  and  shocked  to  see  how 
great  is  the  misconception  and  ignorance  implied  in 
such  an  assertion.  In  the  Life  of  Bishop  French  we 
read :  "  Another  was  only  come  to  dispute  and  entangle 
us  in  our  talk,  a  learned  Mullah,  full  of  captious 
quibbles   and   subtle   disputations.      He  said   he   was 

1  Ameer  Ali,  The  Spirit  of  Islam,  pp.  121-122. 


122  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

sure  he  loved  Christ  more  than  I  did,  for  he  did  not 
believe  such  bad  things  as  I  did,  that  He  was  crucified, 
dead  and  buried,  for  he  believed,  and  all  Mohammedans 
believed,  He  never  died  at  all."  ^ 

II.  So  far  we  have  considered  the  Moslem  idea  of 
the  person  and  character  of  our  Saviour  negatively. 
We  pass  on  to  consider  what  Moslems  admit  and 
believe  as  regards  the  dignity  of  person  and  the 
purity  of  character  found  in  Jesus  Christ.  One  cannot 
help  feeling  that  the  Moslem  who  has  carefully  studied 
the  Koran  will  come  to  the  conclusion,  independently 
of  all  the  commentators,  that  Christ  is  superior  to 
Mohammed ;  and  it  is  a  joy  to  all  missionaries  to  know 
that  occasionally  one  finds  persons  who  come  to  this 
conclusion,  and  in  consequence  turn  to  the  Gospels, 
led  to  them  by  the  Koran.  The  Eev.  T.  Bomford  of 
Peshawar  tells  of  such  an  instance :  a  man  from  Mecca 
writing  to  the  Bible  Society  Depot  in  Lahore,  and 
asking  for  a  New  Testament  to  learn  more  of  the 
.Christ  mentioned  in  the  Koran ;  Dr.  Pennell  of 
Bannu  mentioned  other  cases  of  a  similar  nature. 
There  is  no  better  way  of  preaching  Christ  to  Moslems 
than  by  beginning  with  the  testimony  of  the  Koran 
to  Jesus.2 

First  of  all,  Moslems  admit  the  dignity  of   Christ 
as  prophet  and  apostle,  with  names  given  to  Him  which 

^  Life  of  Bishop  French,  vol.  ii.  p.  119. 

2  Cf.  Christ  in  Islam :    The  Testimony  of  tlie  Quran  to  Christ,  by 
Rev.  Wm.  Goldsack.     Christian  Literature  Society,  Madras. 


THE  PERSON  AND  CHARACTER  OF  JESUS     123 

are  applied  to  no  other  prophet  and  to  no  other  apostle^ 
as  we  have  seen  in  Chapter  I.  Every  sincere  Moslem 
admits  the  force  of  this  argument  for  the  unique 
character  and  personality  of  Jesus  Christ,  although 
a  man  among  men. 

Nevertheless,  the  average  Moslem  does  not  see  the 
force  of  this  argument  until  his  attention  is  called  to  it 
specially,  because,  even  although  these  titles  are  applied 
to  Jesus  Christ,  he  himself  is  ranked  with  the  other 
apostles  and  prophets  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  Him 
no  special  dignity  of  position.  Moslems  are  fond  of 
quoting  the  text,  "We  make  no  distinction  between 
them  "  {i.e.  between  the  prophets) — Surah  2  :  130,  2  : 
285,  and  3 :  78 :  "  Say,  We  believe  in  God  and  what 
He  has  sent  down  to  us,  and  what  has  come  down  to 
Abraham  and  Ishmael  and  Isaac  and  Jacob ;  and  what 
came  down  to  Moses  and  to  Jesus  and  the  prophets 
from  their  Lord.  We  make  no  distinction  between 
any  of  them."  And  it  is  remarkable  that  the  name  of 
Jesus  is  mixed  up  with  the  other  prophets  in  the  only 
complete  list  given  in  the  Koran  (Surah  6 :  84) : 
"  Isaac,  Jacob,  David,  Solomon,  Job,  Joseph,  Moses, 
Aaron,  Zechariah,  John,  Jesus,  Elias,  Ishmael,  Elisha, 
Jonah,  Lot."  To  the  average  Moslem  the  Koran  and 
tradition  yield  no  chronological  conception  of  the 
order  of  prophetic  history,  and  one  would  not  infer 
from  the  Koran  necessarily  that  Jesus  was  the  last 
of  the  prophets  before  Mohammed  or  the  greatest. 

In  the  second  place,  Mohammedans  teach  the  sinless- 


124  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

ness  of  Jesus  Christ.  And  although  this  sinlessness, 
according  to  present  teaching,  does  not  put  Jesus 
Christ  in  a  class  by  Himself,  as  all  the  prophets  are 
sinless  in  the  Moslem  sense  of  that  word,  yet  the 
Koran,  while  mentioning  the  sins  of  Adam,  David, 
Solomon,  and  other  prophets,  leaves  no  doubt  as 
regards  the  purity  of  the  character  of  Jesus.  Moham- 
med himself,  of  course,  is  also  considered  by  all 
Moslems  as  the  paragon  of  excellence  and  purity,  and 
as  one  who  has  never  sinned.  In  regard  to  Jesus 
Christ,  however,  the  statements  of  orthodox  tradition 
are  very  remarkable.  The  prophet  said,  we  are  told, 
"There  is  no  one  of  the  sons  of  Adam  except  Mary 
and  her  son  but  is  touched  by  the  devil  at  the  time  of 
his  birth,  and  the  child  makes  a  loud  noise  from  the 
touch."  ^  Here  we  have  the  doctrine  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception  not  only  of  the  Virgin  Mary  but  of  Jesus. 

We  are  also  told,  "  When  Mary  was  standing  under 
the  palm  tree,  the  angels  defended  her,  and  when 
Satan  tried  to  get  at  her  from  above,  they  flocked 
above  her.  Then  he  tried  to  get  at  her  from  beneath, 
and  behold,  the  feet  of  the  angels  protected  her.  And 
when  he  tried  to  get  in  between  them,  they  prevented 
him.  So  Satan  went  back  and  said,  There  is  nothing 
ever  born  which  was  defended  against  me  so  success- 
fully as  this  birth."  2 

One  of  the  commentators,  Er-Razi,  says  that  Jesus 
was  given  the  title  Messiah  "because   He  was  kept 

^  Mishkatf  Bk.  I.  chap.  iii.  ^  Qarmaniy  vol.  i.  p.  70. 


THE  PERSON  AND  CHARACTER  OF  JESUS     125 

clear  from  the  taint  of  sin."  There  is  a  remarkable 
tradition  related  by  Anas,  which  seems  by  implication 
to  prove  that  while  Mohammed  admitted  his  own 
sinfulness,  he  could  not  charge  Jesus  with  sin.  It 
reads  as  follows : — 

"In  the  Day  of  Resurrection  MusHms  will  not  be  able  to 
move,  and  they  will  be  greatly  distressed,  and  will  say,  '  Would 
to  God  that  we  had  asked  Him  to  create  some  one  to  intercede 
for  us,  that  we  might  be  taken  from  this  place,  and  be  delivered 
from  tribulation  and  sorrow.'  Then  these  men  will  go  to  Adam 
and  will  say,  'Thou  art  the  father  of  all  men,  God  created 
thee  with  His  hand,  and  made  thee  a  dweller  in  Paradise,  and 
ordered  His  angels  to  prostrate  themselves  before  thee,  and 
taught  thee  the  names  of  all  things.  Ask  grace  for  us,  we 
pray  thee ! '  And  Adam  will  say,  '  I  am  not  of  that  degree 
of  eminence  you  suppose,  for  I  committed  a  sin  in  eating  of 
the  grain  which  was  forbidden.  Go  to  Noah,  the  Prophet, 
he  was  the  first  who  was  sent  by  God  to  the  unbelievers  on 
the  face  of  the  earth.'  Then  they  will  go  to  Noah  and  ask 
for  intercession,  and  he  will  say,  'I  am  not  of  that  degree 
which  ye  suppose.'  And  he  will  remember  the  sin  which 
he  committed  in  asking  for  the  deliverance  of  his  son  (Hud), 
not  knowing  whether  it  was  a  right  request  or  not ;  and  he 
will  say,  '  Go  to  Abraham,  who  is  the  Friend  of  God.'  Then 
they  will  go  to  Abraham,  and  he  will  say,  '  I  am  not  of  that 
degree  which  ye  suppose.'  And  he  will  remember  the  three 
occasions  on  which  he  told  lies  in  the  world  ;  and  he  will  say, 
'  Go  to  Moses,  who  is  the  servant  to  whom  God  gave  His  law, 
and  whom  He  allowed  to  converse  with  Him.'  And  they  will 
go  to  Moses,  and  Moses  will  say,  '  I  am  not  of  that  degree 
which  ye  suppose.'  And  he  will  remember  the  sin  which  he 
committed  in  slaying  a  man,  and  he  will  say,  'Go  to  Jesus, 
He  is  the  servant  of  God,  the  Apostle  of  God,  the  Spirit  of  God, 
and  the  Word  of  God.'  Then  they  will  go  to  Jesus,  and  He 
will  say,   '  Go   to   Muhammad   who  is  a  servant,   whose  sins 


126  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

God  has  forgiven  both  first  and  last.'  Then  the  Muslims 
will  come  to  me,  and  I  will  then  ask  permission  to  go  into 
God's  presence  and  intercede  for  them."  ^ 

There  is  also  this  curious  version  of  the  temptation 
of  Jesus  which  may  indicate  His  victory  over  the 
devil,  but  is  not  very  conclusive:  Ta'us  of  Yemen, 
one  of  the  early  followers  of  Mohammed,  used  to  say, 
"There  is  nothing  which  a  man  says  but  is  counted 
against  him,  even  his  moaning  in  illness."  He  said, 
"  Jesus  having  met  Iblis,  the  latter  said  to  him,  '  Do 
you  not  know  that  nothing  will  betide  you  but  what 
is  destined  for  you  ? '  Jesus  replied,  '  Yes.'  Iblis 
then  said,  'Ascend  to  the  summit  of  this  mountain 
and  throw  yourself  down :  see  whether  you  will  live 
or  not.'  Jesus  replied,  'Do  you  not  know  that  God 
has  said,  "  My  servant  cannot  test  me,  for  I  do  what 
I  please  ? "  Verily,  a  servant  does  not  try  his  Lord, 
but  God  tries  His  servant.' "  Ta'us  said,  "  Iblis  there- 
fore became  his  enemy."  ^ 

In  the  third  place,  Jesus  Christ  is  the  great  Miracle- 
Worker,  especially  as  the  healer  of  the  sick.  It  is 
the  common  opinion  among  Moslems  that  the  science 
of  medicine  had  reached  a  high  degree  of  perfection 
in  the  days  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  that  God  glorified 
His  apostle  by  making  it  possible  for  Him  to  heal 
the  sick  through  miraculous  power.  We  have  seen 
in  the  story  of  the  miracles  of  Jesus  how  this  con- 

1  Mishkat,  Book  XXIII.  Chapter  12. 

2  Ad-Damiri's  Hayat  Al-Hayawan,  p.  227. 


THE  PERSON  AND  CHARACTER  OF  JESUS    127 

ception    is    elaborated.     Jesus    Christ    as    the    Great 
Physician  is  a  familiar  picture  to  Moslems. 

The  following  beautiful  account  of  Jesus  healing 
the  sick  occurs  in  the  Masnavi/  and  may  well  compare 
with  our  evening  hymn, 

"At  evening,  ere  the  sun  was  set, 

The  sick,  0  Lord,  around  Thee  lay "  : — 


"The  house  of  'Isa  was  the  banquet  of  men  of  heart, 

Ho  !   afflicted  one,  quit  not  this  door  ! 

From  all  sides  the  people  ever  thronged, 

Many  blind  and  lame,  and  halt  and  afflicted, 

To  the  door  of  the  house  of  'Isa  at  dawn. 

That  with  his  breath  he  might  heal  their  ailments. 

As  soon  as  he  had  finished  his  orisons. 

That  holy  one  would  come  forth  at  the  third  hour  ; 

He  viewed  those  impotent  folk,  troop  by  troop. 

Sitting  at  his  door  in  hope  and  expectation ; 

He  spoke  to  them,  saying,  '  0  stricken  ones  ! 

The  desires  of  all  of  you  have  been  granted  by  God  ; 

Arise,  walk  without  pain  or  affliction. 

Acknowledge  the  mercy  and  beneficence  of  God  ! ' 

Then  all,  as  camels  whose  feet  are  shackled, 

When  you  loose  their  feet  in  the  road. 

Straightway  rush  in  joy  and  delight  to  the  halting-place. 

So  did  they  run  upon  their  feet  at  his  command." 

Lastly,  Christ  is  alive  and  in  heaven,  where  He 
is  able  to  intercede  for  His  people.  Zamakhshari  in 
his  Commentary  on  the  Koran  text,  "illustrious  in 
this  world  and  the  next "  (Surah  3  :  46)  says,  "  This 
signifies   the   office   of   prophet   and   supremacy   over 

^  Masnavi-i-Manavi  ofJalal-ud-Din,  Whinfield's  translation,  p.  116, 


128  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

men  in  this  world,  and  in  the  next  world  the  office 
of  Intercessor  and  loftiness  of  rank  in  Paradise." 
Moslems  disagree  as  to  where  Jesus  Christ  now  is. 
The  Sunni  divines  agree  that  He  saw  no  corruption, 
but  they  differ  as  to  the  exact  state  of  celestial  bliss 
in  which  He  now  resides  in  His  human  body.  Some 
say  He  is  in  the  second  heaven;  some  say  He  is  in 
the  third ;  some  say  the  fourth.^  A  learned  doctor 
of  the  Shiah  Sect  assured  me  that  the  Shiah  belief  is 
that  He  is  in  the  highest,  or  the  seventh  heaven. 

Gathering  up  these  ideas  of  the  character  of  Jesus 
and  His  person,  and  yet  remembering  what  they  deny 
in  regard  to  our  Saviour,  it  is  evident  that  to  Moslems 
the  Founder  of  the  Christian  religion,  although 
miraculously  born,  with  power  to  work  miracles,  and 
the  last  and  greatest  of  all  the  prophets  until 
Mohammed,  who  also  had  the  special  honour  of  being 
taken  up  into  heaven,  is  nevertheless  a  mere  man, 
sent  of  God,  and  one  of  the  objects  of  His  mission 
(and  this  is  always  the  climax  of  Moslem  teaching) 
was  that  Jesus  came  to  announce  the  coming  of 
Mohammed.  This  idea  has  taken  a  permanent  and 
prominent  place  in  all  later  Moslem  teaching  con- 
cerning the  person  of  Jesus,  and  is  often  the  first 
argument  on  Moslem  lips.  Every  Moslem,  even  boys 
who  are  well  read  in  their  religion,  can  glibly  quote 
Surah  61:6:  "And  remember  when  Jesus  the  son 
of  Mary  said,  '  O  children  of  Israel !  of  a  truth  I  am 
^  Hughes,  Dictionary  of  Islam,  p.  235. 


THE  PERSON  AND  CHARACTER  OF  JESUS    129 

God's  Apostle  to  you  to  confirm  the  law  which  was 
given  before  me,  and  to  announce  an  apostle  that 
shall  come  after  me,  whose  name  shall  be  Ahmed'" 
By  this  token  from  the  lips  of  Mohammed  himself, 
and  alleged  to  be  a  revelation  from  God,  the  prophet 
of  Arabia  not  only  succeeds  but  supplants  the  Prophet 
of  Nazareth. 

Moslems  have  always  been  eager  to  find  further 
proof  of  the  coming  of  Mohammed  in  the  Old  and 
New  Testament  Scriptures  in  addition  to  their  mis- 
interpretation of  John  16:  7:  The  Paraclete}  They 
therefore  not  only  quote  the  words  of  the  Koran,  but 
refer  to  Deuteronomy  33  :  2,  Isaiah  21 :  6  ;  the  parable 
in  Matthew  20,  John  4:  21,  and  1  John  4  : 1-3. 

The  passage  in  Deuteronomy  states  that  Jehovah 
came  from  Sinai,  and  rose  from  Seir  unto  them ;  He 
shined  forth  from  Mount  Paran.  Sinai  is  a  Jewish 
mountain;  Seir,  they  say,  is  a  mountain  in  Galilee 
where  Christ  died,  but  Paran  is  a  mountain  near 
Mecca,  and  signifies  the  Mohammedan  religion. 

As  for  Isaiah's  prophecy,  in  which  he  sees  a  troop 
coming  of  horsemen  and  of  men  riding  asses,  and  of 
those  who  ride  camels,  to  which  the  prophet  should 
hearken  diligently,  their  interpretation  is  that  the 
horses  refer  to  Moses'  dispensation,  the  asses  to  that 
on  which  Christ  rode,  and  the  camels  to  Mohammed. 

The  parable  in  the  twentieth  chapter  of  Matthew's 
Gospel  of  the  labourers  in  the  vineyard  is   cleverly 

1  See  following  chapter. 
9 


130  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

applied  to  the  threefold  dispensation:  the  morning, 
Judaism;  the  noonday  labourers,  the  apostles  of 
Christ;  and  those  to  whom  he  came  in  the  evening, 
the  Moslems.  This  interpretation  is  based  on  a  most 
interesting  statement  attributed  to  Mohammed  in 
the  traditions. 

"Your  likeness,  0  Moslems,  in  comparison  to  the 
Jews  and  Christians,  is  like  that  of  a  man  who  hired 
labourers.  He  said,  '  Who  will  work  for  me  a  whole 
day  for  a  shekel  ? '  These  are  the  Jews,  for  they  have 
laboured  a  long  time  for  a  small  wage.  Then  said  the 
man,  'Who  will  work  from  noon  until  night  for  a 
shekel?'  These  are  the  Christians.  Then  he  said, 
'Who  will  work  from  afternoon  prayer  time  until 
sunset?'  Such  labourers  are  ye,  and  remember  that 
for  you  there  is  a  double  wage,  because  ye  have 
acknowledged  the  prophet  of  Truth,  and  in  him  all 
the  other  prophets."  The  tradition  goes  on  to  show 
how  the  Jews  and  Christians  complained,  in  the  terms 
of  the  parable,  and  how  God  said,  "  I  will  give  those 
whom  I  love  what  I  will."  ^ 

According  to  John  4:21,  the  true  worshippers  of 
God  are  those  that  "  neither  on  this  mountain  nor  in 
Jerusalem  "  worship  Him ;  namely,  the  Mohammedans. 

The  most  daring  use  of  Scripture,  however,  as  a 
prophecy  of  the  coming  of  Mohammed,  is  the  Moslem 
interpretation  of  the  last  passage  mentioned.  "  Here- 
by know  ye   the   Spirit   of   God.     Every   spirit   that 

1  Mishkat,  vol.  ii.  p.  814.     Captain  Mathew's  translation. 


THE  PERSON  AND  CHARACTER  OF  JESUS    131 

confesseth  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is 
of  God."  Mohammed  is  the  true  Spirit  of  God  because 
he  taught  that  Jesus  Christ  was  come  in  the  flesh; 
namely,  He  came  as  man  and  man  only,  not  as  God.^ 

After  this  fashion  the  Koran  and  its  interpreters 
unite  to  obscure  the  glory  of  the  person  and  character 
of  Jesus  Christ,  by  obtruding  ever  and  anon  Mo- 
hammed as  the  last  of  the  prophets  and  the  one  to 
whom  even  Jesus  Christ  bears  witness.  And  what 
Moslems  have  done  as  regards  the  person  of  Jesus 
Christ,  they  have  not  hesitated  to  do  in  regard  to 
His  teaching,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  next  chapter. 

1  For  other  passages  of  Scripture  used  by  Moslems  to  establish 
the  fact  that  Jesus  and  His   apostles   foretold  the   coming  of  Mo- 
hammed,  see   Carletti's    translation   of    Iclhar-ul-HaTc,   vol.    ii.    pp. 
190-250.     He  quotes  the  following  passages  with  comment  :— 
Deut.  18  :  17-22.  Isa.  42  :  9-17. 

„     32:21.  „    65:1-6. 

33:2.  Matt.  13  :  31,  32. 

Gen.  17:20.  „      20:1-16. 

„     49:10.  „      22:33-45. 

Dan.  2  :  31-45.  Jude  14  :  15. 

Ps.  45:1-18.  Rev.  2:26-29. 

,,149:1-9. 
Cf.     Tisdall's    Mohammedan     Objections     to     Cliristianity ,     Rice's 
Crusaders  of  the  Twentieth   Centunj,  and  Gerock's   Christologie  des 
Koran,  pp.  110-112. 


VI 

HIS  TEACHING 


"There  seems  to  be  no  satisfactory  proof  that  an 
Arabic  version  of  the  New  Testament  existed  in 
Mohammed's  time.  Even  in  the  "  Orthodox  "  Church, 
the  Gospel  was  neglected  in  favour  of  legends  of  saints 
which  appealed  more  to  the  popular  taste  for  the  mar- 
vellous. .  .  .  We  shall  see  that  the  agreement  in  detail 
between  what  the  Koran  relates  on  these  subjects  and 
what  may  be  found  in  apocryphal  and  heretical  litera- 
ture is  very  remarkable.  Here  again  Mohammed  seems 
to  have  had  a  wonderful  talent  for  rejecting  the  true 
and  accepting  the  false,  just  as  in  the  case  of  the  Jewish 
traditions." — W.  St.  Clair  Tlsdall,  The  Sources  of 
the  Quran,  pp.  140-143. 

' '  On  pourrait  faire  un  volume  avec  ce  que  les  auteurs 
musulmans  rapportent  des  paroles  ou  des  actions  de 
•Jesus  Christ.  Les  examples  que  nous  venous  de  donner 
suflfisent  pour  demontrer  que  le  '  injil '  musulman  est 
encore  a  chercher.  Ne  serait-ce  point  I'evangile  dont 
Ibn  Salam  a  fait  la  traduction,  com  me  il  I'assure  dans  le 
Fihrist. 

"Mais  cet  evangile  n'existe  plus;  peut-etre  quelque 
chercheur  pourra-t-il  un  jour  le  retrouver  ! " — P.  L. 
Cheikho,  Quclques  Lcgendcs  Jslamiques  Aiwcryphcs. 


134 


VI 
HIS  TEACHING 

THE  New  Testament,  and  especially  the  Gospels, 
give  as  full  an  account  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus 
as  of  His  life  and  ministry.  This  is  not  the  case  in 
the  Koran  and  in  Moslem  tradition.  Both  are  de- 
cidedly meagre  on  the  subject,  and  Moslems  in  general 
are  unable  to  give  details  regarding  the  message  of 
Him  "  who  spake  as  never  man  spake." 

Although,  as  we  have  seen,  there  are  many  references 
to  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Koran,  it  is  remarkable  that 
there  is  not  a  single  direct  quotation  from  the  New 
Testament  in  the  whole  book,  and  only  one  from 
the  Old  Testament  (Surah  21 :  105).i  There  are  pas- 
sages in  the  Koran,  however,  which  indicate  that 
Mohammed  either  directly  or  indirectly  borrowed 
Scripture  thought  if  not  language.  Among  them  are 
the  following : — 

In  Surah  29 :  60  we  read,  "  How  many  a  beast  can- 
not carry  its  own  provision.  God  provides  for  it  and 
for  you.     He  both  hears  and  knows."     We  may  com- 

*  "  The  eartli  my  righteous  servants  shall  inherit."— Of.  Ps.  37  :  29. 

135 


136  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

pare  this  with  the  teaching  of  Jesus  Christ  on  God's 
care  for  the  birds  (Matthew  6  :  26). 

In  Surah  18  :  24  the  reference  is  clearer :  "  Never 
say  of  anything,  'Verily,  I  am  going  to  do  that  to- 
morrow,' except  (ye  say)  'if  God  please.'"  Compare 
Jas.  4 :  13-15  :  "  Ye  ought  to  say,  '  If  the  Lord  will, 
we  shall  both  live  and  do  this  or  that.' " 

In  Surah  42  :  19  there  is  a  reference  to  the  law  of 
sowing  and  reaping  like  that  in  Gal.  6:7.  "  He  who 
wishes  for  the  tilth  of  the  next  world,  we  will  increase 
for  him  the  tilth ;  and  he  who  desires  the  tilth  of  this 
world,  we  will  give  him  thereof,  but  in  the  next  world 
he  shall  have  no  portion." 

The  passage  that  approaches  nearest  to  a  quotation, 
however,  is  found  in  Surah  7  :  39  :  "  Verily,  those  who 
say  our  signs  are  lies  and  are  too  big  with  pride  for 
them,  for  these  the  doors  of  heaven  shall  not  be 
opened,  and  they  shall  not  enter  into  paradise  until 
a  camel  shall  pass  into  a  needle's  eye "  (Matt.  19  : 
24). 

Passing  by  these  references  to  the  New  Testament, 
for  which  no  credit  is  given  in  the  Koran,  and  which 
are  not,  therefore,  considered  by  Moslems  as  a  part  of 
the  teaching  of  Jesus,  we  consider  first  Mohammed's 
conception  of  the  message  tliat  Christ  came  to  bring 
to  the  Jews.  It  is  not  evident  from  the  Koran  that 
the  mission  of  Jesus  Christ  was  universal.  On  the 
contrary,  He  is  sent  to  the  Jews  only,  and  is  not  an 
apostle  to  the   whole   world,   although   His   disciples 


HIS  TEACHING  137 

afterward  carry  His  message  into  other  lands.  Jesus 
Christ  was  God's  messenger  to  the  Jews  who  had  fallen 
into  error  and  unbelief.  The  miracles  were  intended 
to  persuade  them  of  the  truth  of  His  message,  and  to 
lead  them  to  accept  His  revelation  received  from  God, 
namely,  the  Injil  or  Gospel.  The  Koran  does  not 
indicate  into  what  particular  errors  the  Jews  had 
fallen  and  in  what  respect  they  had  left  the  true 
religion  of  Abraham  (Islam),  that  is,  the  belief  in  one 
God.  In  one  passage  it  is  asserted  that  the  Jews  gave 
divine  honours  to  Ezra  (Surah  9  :  30),  but  whether  this 
took  place  after  the  mission  of  Jesus  Christ  or  before, 
is  left  uncertain. 

Al  Qaramani,  in  his  History  of  Ancient  Times  and 
Peoples^  relates  that  "  When  Jesus  was  eight  years  old. 
He  was  circumcised  and  named  Yasu'a.  When  He 
was  thirty  years  old  revelation  came  to  Him,  and  He 
entered  the  Holy  House  where  the  children  of  Israel 
were  buying  and  selling;  then  He  began  to  strike 
them  and  to  say,  Ye  sons  of  the  children  of  vipers  and 
snakes  1  have  you  taken  the  house  of  God  for  a  bazaar  ? 
Then  God  made  the  Gospel  to  come  down  to  Him  and 
Gabriel  ten  times  "  (vol.  i.  p.  70). 

As  the  Injil,  or  Gospel,  is  considered  not  only  by  the 
Koran,  but  by  all  Moslems,  as  the  special  message  of 
Jesus,  it  is  important  to  know  what  the  Koran  teaches 
in  regard  to  its  character  and  authority.  The  word 
injil  is  undoubtedly  a  corruption  of  the  Greek 
gvavyg/./ov  (evangel).      It   occurs   twelve   times   in   the 


138  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

Koran,^  and  there  doubtless  refers  to  the  revelations 
made  by  God  to  Jesus,  that  is,  to  His  verbal  messages, 
afterwards  put  into  writing.  In  later  Mohammedan 
usage  it  is  applied  to  the  whole  New  Testament.  All 
of  the  passages  that  mention  the  Injil  occur  in  the 
later  Surahs. - 

Concerning  the  original  divine  character  and  autho- 
rity of  this  book,  or  message  or  teaching  of  Jesus,  the 
Koran  expresses  no  doubt.  It  confirms  all  God's 
teaching  that  preceded  it ;  it  is  a  guidance  to  men ;  it 
is  the  basis  of  firm  belief  and  of  salvation.  Surah 
5  :  72 :  "Ye  rest  on  naught  until  ye  stand  fast  by  the 
law  and  the  gospel."  It  is  "a  word  of  truth."  Its 
effect  is  to  produce  the  spirit  of  adoration  (Surah 
48  :  29),  and  to  prompt  to  deeds  of  kindness  and  com- 
passion (Surah  57  :  27). 

But  since  Mohammed  makes  an  appeal  to  the  Gospel 
for  the  support  of  his  own  mission  in  what  he  con- 
siders a  genuine  saying  of  Christ's,  well  known  to  the 
Christians  of  his  day,  he  gave  the  reason  for  the  later 
charge  of  Moslems  against  Christians,  that  they  have 
either  lost  or  changed  the  original  gospel.  This  appeal 
of  Mohammed  to  Jesus  Christ's  words  occurs  in  Surah 
Gl:6:  "And  when  Jesus  the  son   of   Mary  said,  *0 

1  Surali  7  :  156  ;  Surah  3:2;  Surah  3  :  43  ;  Surah  3  :  58  ;  Surah 
57  :  27  ;  Surah  48  :  29  ;  Surah  9  :  112  ;  Surah  5  :  50,  51 ;  Surah  5  :  70  ; 
Surah  5  :  72  ;  Surah  5  :  110,  and  perhaps  Surah  19  :  31.  In  this  last 
passage,  the  infant  Jesus  says,  "  Verily,  I  am  the  servant  of  God. 
He  hath  given  me  The  Book,  and  He  hath  made  me  a  prophet." 

-  Cf.  Rodwell  and  Noldeke. 


HIS  TEACHING  139 

children  of  Israel !  verily,  I  am  the  apostle  of  God  to 
you,  verifying  the  law  that  was  before  me,  and  giving 
you  glad  tidings  of  an  apostle  who  shall  come  after  me, 
whose  name  shall  be  Ahmed.' "  ^ 

Jesus,  they  say,  foretold  the  coming  of  Mohammed  ; 
He  pointed  to  him  that  was  to  come.  The  commenta- 
tors and  later  tradition  assert,  therefore,  that  the 
teaching  of  Jesus,  originally  pure  monotheism,  was 
corrupted  by  the  apostles  that  followed  Him.  In 
commenting  on  the  words  of  the  Koran,  "  The  Chris- 
tians say  that  the  Messiah  is  the  son  of  God ;  that  is 
what  they  say  with  their  mouths,  imitating  the  sayings 
of  those  who  misbelieved  before — God  fight  them !  how 
they  lie  ! "  El-Kalbi  states  :  "  The  Christians  followed 
the  religion  of  Islam  for  eighty-one  years  after  the 
translation  of  Jesus,  praying  with  their  faces  directed 
to  the  Kihlah  and  fasting  during  the  month  of 
Ramadan,  until  a  war  occurred  between  them  and  the 
Jews.  There  was  a  brave  and  bold  man  among  the 
Jews  called  Paul,  who  killed  a  large  number  of  the 
followers  of  Jesus.  He  said  one  day  to  the  Jews, '  If 
the  truth  is  with  Jesus,  we  have  misbelieved  Him  and 
we  shall  go  to  Hell-fire,  and  we  shall  be  over-reached, 
if  they  enter  Paradise  and  we  enter  Hell -fire ;  but  I 

^  Ahmed  is  the  equivalent  of  Mohammed,  and  Moslem  commentators 
have  ingeniously  found  an  allusion  to  this  promise  in  the  words  of 
Jesus  concerning  the  Paraclete  (John  14  :  16,  15  :  26,  and  John  17  :  7). 
They  assert  that  the  word  irapaKXrjTos  has  been  substituted  in  the 
Greek  for  irepiKXvros,  which  would  mean  the  same  as  Ahmed.  The 
whole  context  makes  clear  the  futility  of  this  contention. 


140  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

shall  scheme  a  dodge  and  mislead  them,  so  that  they 
would  enter  Hell-fire.'  Now,  he  had  a  horse  called  the 
Eagle,  on  the  back  of  which  he  used  to  fight ;  he 
hocked  it,  showed  repentance,  and  threw  dust  on  his 
head,  upon  which  the  Christians  asked  him, '  Who  are 
you  ? '  He  replied,  *  Paul,  your  enemy.  A  voice  from 
heaven  declared  to  mes  "  Your  repentance  will  not  be 
accepted  until  you  become  a  Christian,"  and  here,  I 
have  now  repented.' — [This  doubtless  refers  to  the 
history  of  Paul's  conversion,  Acts  ix.]. — They  therefore 
took  him  into  the  church,  and  he  entered  a  room  in  it 
and  remained  in  it  for  a  year,  not  going  out  either  by 
day  or  by  night  until  he  learnt  the  New  Testament. 
He  then  came  out  and  said, '  A  voice  from  heaven  has 
declared  to  me,  "  God  has  accepted  your  repentance." ' 
They  therefore  believed  him  and  loved  him.  He  then 
went  to  Jerusalem  and  appointed  over  them  as  his 
successor  Nestorius,  whom  he  taught  that  Jesus,  Mary, 
and  God  were  three.  He  then  went  to  Greece  (ar-Eum) 
and  taught  them  there  the  doctrine  of  the  divinity  and 
the  humanity.  He  told  them  that  Jesus  was  neither 
a  human  being  nor  a  jinn,  but  that  he  was  the  son  of 
God,  and  he  taught  a  man  named  Jacob  this  doctrine. 
He  then  called  a  man  named  Malkan,  and  told  him 
that  God  always  was  and  always  will  be  Jesus. 
When  he  had  got  a  proper  hold  over  them,  he  called 
them  three,  one  by  one,  and  said  to  each  of  them, 
'  You  are  exclusively  mine,  and  I  have  seen  Jesus  in 
a  dream,  and  he  was  pleased  with  me.'     He  also  said 


HIS  TEACHING  141 

to  each  one  of  them,  *  I  shall  to-morrow  kill  myself ; 
then  invite  people  to  follow  your  persuasion.'  He 
then  entered  the  arena  and  killed  himself,  saying,  '  I 
am  doing  this  to  please  Jesus.'  When  the  third  day 
came,  each  one  of  them  invited  the  people  to  accept 
his  creed,  and  a  party  followed  each  of  them ;  so  that 
the  Christians  became  separated  into  three  distinct 
bodies, — the  Nestorians,  the  Jacobites,  and  the  Mala- 
kites.  They  differed  from,  and  fought  with,  one  another. 
Hence  God  said,  'And  the  Christians  say  that  the 
Messiah  is  the  son  of  God ;  that  is  what  they  say  with 
their  mouths,  imitating  the  sayings  of  those  who  mis- 
believed before. — God  fight  them !  how  they  lie ! ' "  ^ 

Another  account  of  how  the  apostles  corrupted  the 
original  message  of  Jesus  is  given  in  the  Biographical 
Dictionary  of  Hajji  Khalifah,  entitled  Kashf-uz-Zunun. 
The  statements  made  are  such  a  curious  mixture  of 
fact  and  fiction  that  we  quote  them  at  length : — 

"  In  the  book  entitled  the  TuhfatuH-Adih  fi  Raddi  'ala  Ahli's- 
Saliby  or  '  A  Refutation  of  the  Servants  of  the  Cross '  (written  by 
'Abdu'llah,  a  pervert  from  Christianity  to  Islam,  a.h.  823),  it 
is  said  that  these  four  companions  are  they  who  corrupted  the 
religion  of  Jesus,  and  have  added  to  it.  And  that  they  were  not 
of  the  Hawariyun,  or  apostles  mentioned  in  the  Koran.  Matta 
did  not  see  Jesus  until  the  year  he  was  taken  up  to  heaven  ; 
and  after  the  ascension  of  Jesus  he  wrote  in  the  city  of  Alex- 
andria, with  his  own  hand,  his  Injil,  in  which  he  gives  an 
account  of  the  birth  and  life  of  Jesus,  mentioning  several 
circumstances  which  are  not  mentioned  by  the  others.     Luka 

^  Ad-Damiri,  Hayat-Al-Hayaivan,  vol.  ii.  pp.  537-538. 


142  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

also  did  not  see  Jesus,  but  he  was  converted  to  Christianity  by 
one  Bulis  (Paul),  who  was  an  Israelite,  who  himself  had  not  seen 
Jesus,  but  was  converted  by  Ananiya  (Ananias).  Marqus  also 
did  not  see  Jesus  at  all,  but  was  converted  to  Christianity,  after 
the  Ascension  of  Jesus,  by  the  apostle  Bitrus^  and  received  the 
Injil  from  that  apostle  in  the  city  of  Rome.  And  his  gospel  in 
many  respects  contradicts  the  statements  of  the  other  three. 
Yuhanna  was  the  son  of  the  sister  of  Maryam,  the  mother  of 
Jesus,  and  the  Christians  assert  that  Jesus  was  present  at  the 
marriage  of  Yuhanna,  when  Jesus  changed  the  water  into  wine. 
It  was  the  first  miracle  performed  by  Jesus." 

"When  Yuhanna  saw  the  miracle,  he  was  converted  to 
Christianity,  and  left  his  wife  and  followed  Jesus.  He  was  the 
writer  of  the  fourth  Injil.  It  was  written  in  Greek,  in  the 
city  of  Ephesus.  These  are  the  four  persons  who  altered  and 
changed  the  true  Injil,  for  there  was  only  one  Injil  revealed  to 
Jesus,  in  which  there  was  no  contradiction  or  discrepancy. 
These  people  have  invented  lies  concerning  God  and  His 
prophet  Jesus,  upon  whom  be  peace,  as  is  a  well-known  fact, 
although  the  Christians  (Nasara)  deny  it."  ^ 

It  is  evident  from  these  traditions  which  find  an 
echo  in  the  common  belief  of  Moslems  everywhere, 
that  the  gospel  story  now  in  the  hands  of  Christians 
is  not  for  them  a  true  account  of  the  teachings  of  Jesus. 
Although  the  Koran  in  general  terms  commends  both 
the  Old  and  the  New  Testament,^  in  a  whole  series  of 
passages  which  assert  that  the  Torah,  the  Zaboor,  and 
the  Injil  are  the  very  word  of  God,  yet  neither  the 
Koran  nor  tradition  give  any  adequate  indication  of 

^  Quoted  in  Hughes'  Dictionary  of  Islam,  p.  212. 

2  All  the  references  of  the  Koran  to  the  sacred  scriptures  of  the 
Jews  and  Christians  have  been  collected  by  Sir  William  Muir  in  his 
book,  The  Coran.     S.P.C.K.     London,  1878. 


HIS  TEACHING  143 

the  contents  and  message  of   these  books  of  God  as 
they  relate  to  sin  and  salvation. 

The  curious  story  of  Habib  the  carpenter,  which  is 
given  in  Surah  36 :  12-30  of  the  Koran,  tells  of  the 
preaching  of  the  apostles  at  Antioch  and  the  conver- 
sion of  the  carpenter,  but  leaves  out  any  reference 
to  the  character  of  the  message  which  the  apostles 
carried  to  that  city  where  the  disciples  were  first 
called  Christians.  El  Beidhawi,  the  commentator,^ 
says  that  the  people  of  Antioch  were  idolaters,  and 
that  Jesus  sent  two  of  His  disciples,  John  and  Jude, 
to  preach  to  them.  When  they  arrived,  they  met 
Habib  the  carpenter,  who  said,  "  What  signs  can  you 
show  that  you  are  sent  from  God  ? "  They  replied, 
"  We  can  heal  the  sick,  and  give  sight  to  the  blind, 
and  cure  leprosy."  When  Habib  brought  his  sick  son 
to  them,  they  laid  hands  upon  him,  and  he  was  healed. 
Habib  then  believed  on  Jesus,  and  published  the 
Gospel  to  the  people  of  the  city.  When  the  news 
reached  the  governor,  he  sent  for  the  disciples,  and 
asked  them,  "  Is  your  God  different  from  our  God  ? " 
and  they  said,  "  Yes,  He  it  is  who  made  both  thee  and 
thy  gods."  Then  the  governor  put  them  in  prison. 
While  they  were  in  prison  Jesus  sent  Simon  Peter, 
who  made  friends  with  the  servant  of  the  governor 
secretly,  gained  access  to  his  presence,  performed  a 
miracle  by  raising  his  child  who  had  been  dead  seven 
days.  This  child,  when  raised  from  the  dead,  said  he 
1  El  Beidhawi  on  Surah  36  :  12-30  ;  cf.  also  Zamakhshari. 


144  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

had  seen  Jesus  Christ  in  heaven,  who  was .  interceding 
for  the  three  disciples  in  prison.  Then  the  governor 
believed  and  many  others,  but  the  unbelievers  raised  a 
disturbance ;  and  when  Habib  the  carpenter  preached 
to  them,  he  was  stoned,  and  having  died,  entered 
Paradise.  Habib's  tomb  is  still  to  be  seen  at  Antioch, 
and  is  visited  as  a  shrine  by  Moslems. 

When  we  turn  to  later  traditions  and  to  later 
Moslem  literature,  it  is  refreshing  to  find  something 
more  real  on  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  although  it  is  not 
always  attributed  to  Him.  In  Bokhari  we  read,  "  The 
prophet  said,  *  At  the  resurrection  God  shall  say, "  O  ye 
sons  of  men  !  I  was  sick  and  ye  visited  Me  not."  They 
shall  say,  "  Thou  art  the  Lord  of  the  worlds ;  how 
should  we  visit  Thee  ? "  He  will  say,  ''  A  certain 
servant  of  mine  was  sick,  and  if  ye  had  visited  him, 
ye  would  have  found  Me  with  him." '  "  This  is  remark- 
able teaching,  for  it  brings  out  a  sense  of  nearness 
between  God  and  man  which  is  generally  ignored  by 
Moslems. 

In  regard  to  the  teaching  attributed  to  Jesus  Christ 
and  alleged  to  be  found  in  the  original  Gospel,  or  Injil, 
P.  L.  Cheikho  gives  the  following  extracts,  taken,  he 
says,  from  many  sources:  "Jesus  Christ  said  in  the 
Gospel,  '  Hope  if  ye  are  afraid,  and  be  afraid  if  ye 
hope.'  'Your  life  consists  of  a  certain  number  of 
breaths,  and  some  one  is  watching  over  it.  Do  not 
forget  death,  therefore,  because  death  will  not  forget 
you.'     'Good   health   is  a   secret  king.'    'Anxiety  is 


HIS  TEACHING  145 

part  of  the  weakness  of  old  age.'  '  The  son  of  Adam 
craves  for  that  which  is  forbidden.'  '  A  bribe  blinds 
the  eyes  of  the  learned,  and  what  think  ye  then  of  the 
ignorant  ? '  '  Weep  with  those  that  weep,  and  laugh 
with  those  that  laugh.' " 

Another  story  told  in  the  book  of  the  Israelites, 
attributed  to  Wahab  bin  Munabah,  is  that  Jesus  one 
day  passed  a  skull  lying  by  the  wayside  and  com- 
manded it  to  speak.  It  obeyed,  and  recounted  a 
fantastic  story  to  those  who  were  present,  saying,  "  I 
am  Bilwam,  the  son  of  So  and  So,  King  of  Yemen.  I 
lived  a  thousand  years,  and  married  so  many  women, 
and  slaughtered  so  many  enemies,  and  conquered  so 
many  cities.  Let  those  who  see  me  remember,  and 
may  the  world  not  deceive  them  as  it  has  deceived  me, 
for  all  the  time  that  has  passed  is  like  the  dream  of 
one  who  sleepeth."     Then  Jesus  wept.^ 

There  is  one  striking  instance  of  a  quotation  from 
the  epistles, — a  favourite  with  many  thoughtful 
Moslems,  which  is,  however,  attributed  to  Mohammed 
on  the  authority  of  Abu  Huraira :  *'  The  Most  High 
said,  *  I  have  prepared  for  my  righteous  servants  what 
eye  hath  not  seen  nor  ear  heard,  nor  hath  it  occurred 
to  the  heart  of  a  human  being.' "  These  words  are 
evidently  quoted  from  1  Cor.  2  :  4.  Yet  it  is  doubtful 
whether  Mohammed  ever  used  them,  as  much  of  the 
later  traditions  are  pure  invention.^ 

^  Quclques  Legcndes  Islamiqucs  ApocrypheSj  pp.  43,  44. 
^  Mishkat-ul-Masabih,  p.  487. 
lO 


146  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

Other  instances  are  given  by  a  recent  writer  on  the 
subject : 

"In  the  ^ Awarifu-l-Mawo,rif  of  Shahab-ud-Din 
Suhrawardi  the  doctrine  of  the  New  Birth  is  definitely 
attributed  to  Christ.  '  The  death  of  nature  and  of  will, 
which  they  call  "  the  second  birth,"  even  as  Jesus  has 
written.' 

"  Ghazzali  in  the  Ihya-ul-ulum  thus  refers  to  St. 
Matthew  11:  17:  'Some  one  said,  "I  saw  written  in 
the  Gospel,  We  have  sung  to  you,  but  ye  have  not 
been  moved  with  emotion ;  we  have  piped  unto  you, 
but  ye  have  not  danced."'  He  also  quotes  St. 
Matthew  6  :  25,  'Jesus  said.  Consider  the  fowls, 
etc' 

"The  historian  Tabari  mentions  the  institution  of 
the  Last  Supper,  Christ's  washing  His  disciples'  hands, 
requesting  them  to  watch  with  Him,  predicting  Peter's 
denial,  and  quotes  the  text,  '  The  shepherd  shall  be 
smitten,  and  the  sheep  shall  be  scattered.' "  ^ 

Centuries  after  Mohammed,  the  poets  of  Syria  and 
Persia  interpreted  the  teaching  of  Jesus  as  they 
gathered  it  either  from  Moslem  tradition  or  from 
Christian  neighbours.  In  the  Bostan  of  Sa'di  the 
parable  of  the  Publican  and  the  Pharisee  takes  the 
following  curious  shape  : — 

In  Jesus'  time  there  hved  a  youth  so  black  and  dissolute, 
That  Satan  from  him  shrank  appalled  in  every  attribute  ; 

1  *♦  Christ  in  Mohammedan  Tradition,"  C.  H.  A.  Field,  C.M.S. 
Intelligencer,  January  1911. 


HIS  TEACHING  147 

He  ill  a  sea  of  pleasures  foul  uninterrupted  swam 
And  gluttonised  on  dainty  vices,  sipping  many  a  dram. 
Whoever  met  him  on  the  highway  turned  as  from  a  pest, 
Or,  pointing  lifted  finger  at  him,  cracked  some  horrid  jest. 
I  have  been  told  that  Jesus  once  was  passing  by  the  cave 
Where  dwelt  a  monk  who  asked  Him  in, — 
When  suddenly  that  slave  of  sin  appeared  across  the  way, 
Far  off  he  paused,  fell  down  and  sobbingly  began  to  pray  ; 
And  like  a  storm  of  rain  the  tears  pour  gushing  from  his  eyes. 
"  Alas,  and  woe  is  me  for  thirty  squandered  years,"  he  cries  ; 
The  pride-puffed  monk  self-righteous   lifts   his  eyebrows  with 

a  sneer 
And  haughtily  exclaims,  "  Vile  wretch  !   in    vain   hast   thou 

come  here. 
Art  thou  not  plunged  in  sin,  and  tossed  in  lust's  devouring  sea  ? 
What  will  thy  filthy  rags  avail  with  Jesus  and  with  me? 
0  God  !  the  granting  of  a  single  wish  is  all  I  pray. 
Grant  me  to   stand   far   distant  from  this  man   at  Judgment 

Day." 
From  Heaven's  throne  a  revelation  instantaneous  broke, 
And  God's  own  thunder-words  through   the   mouth  of  Jesus 

spoke  : 
"  The  two  whom  praying  there  I  see,  shall  equally  be  heard  ; 
They  pray  diverse, — I  give  to  each  according  to  his  word. 
That  poor  one   thirty   years   has    rolled   in  sin's  most  slimy 

deeps. 
But  now  with  stricken  heart  and   streaming   eyes  for  pardon 

weeps. 
Upon  the  threshold  of  My  grace  he  throws  him  in  desj)air, 
And  faintly  hoping  pity  pours  his  supplications  there. 
Therefore  forgiven  and  freed   from   all   the  guilt  in  which  he 

lies 
My  mercy  chooses  him  a  citizen  of  paradise  ; 
This  monk  desires  that  he  may  not  that  sinner  stand  beside, 
Therefore  he  goes  to  hell  and  so  his  wish  is  gratified."  ^ 

1  Quoted  by  C.  H.  A.  Field. 


148  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

And  the  poet  Nizami  gives  this  curious  illustration 
of  the  compassion  and  gentleness  of  Jesus : — 

One  evening  Jesus  lingered  in  the  market-place 

Teaching  the  people  parables  of  truth  and  grace, 

When  in  the  square  remote  a  crowd  was  seen  to  rise 

And  stop  with  loathing  gestures  and  abhorring  cries. 

The  Master  and  His  meek  disciples  went  to  see 

What  cause  for  this  commotion  and  disgust  could  be, 

And  found  a  poor  dead  dog  beside  the  gutter  laid  : 

Revolting  sight !  at  which  each  face  its  hate  betrayed. 

One  held  his  nose,  one  shut  his  eyes,  one  turned  away. 

And  all  among  themselves  began  aloud  to  say, 

"  Detested  creature !  he  pollutes  the  earth  and  air  ! " 

"  His   eyes   are   blear  !  "     "  His   ears   are    foul !  "     "  His    ribs 

are  bare ! " 
"  In  his  torn  hide  there's  not  a  decent  shoe-string  left ! " 
"  No  doubt  the  execrable  cur  was  hung  for  theft !  " 
Then  Jesus  spake  and  dropped  on  him  this  saving  wreath: 
"  Even  pearls  are  dark  before  the  whiteness  of  his  teeth  ! "  ^ 

It  is  easy  to  understand  how  close  contact  with 
Christians  and  Christian  teaching  gave  rise  to  this  kind 
of  poetry,  but  it  is  not  so  easy  to  understand  or  to 
explain  how  after  Mohammed's  death  distinctively 
Christian  teaching,  nay,  the  very  words  of  Christ,  His 
parables  and  His  deepest  lessons,  are  by  tradition- 
mongers  put  into  the  mouth  of  Mohammed,  as  if  he 
were  the  originator  of  them  ! 

When  we  remember,  however,  that  the  biographies 
of  Mohammed  by  Moslem  authors,  beginning  with  the 
earliest,  but  especially  the  later  biographies,  attribute 
1  Quoted  by  C.  H.  A.  Field. 


HIS  TEACHING  149 

to  their  prophet  an  equality  with,  or  even  a  super- 
iority to  the  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  so  that  Mohammed 
himself  becomes  a  parody  of  Jesus  Christ,  it  is  not 
strange  that  they  imputed  Christ's  teaching  also  to 
him.  Koelle  devotes  the  second  portion  of  his  critical 
treatise,  Mohammed  and  Mohammedanism ^  to  a 
comparison  between  Mohammed  and  Jesus  Christ,  in 
which  he  shows  by  literal  translation  from  Moslem 
biographical  works  how  almost  every  detail  of  the  life 
of  Christ  was  duplicated  by  the  glowing  imagination 
and  devout  admiration  of  Moslems,  who  did  not  scruple 
to  invent  stories  as  long  as  they  glorified  the  prophet.^ 
In  a  special  study  on  the  Hadith  (traditions)  and  the 
New  Testament,  Ignaz  Goldziher  points  out  several 
instances  where  the  very  words  of  Christ  are  attributed 
to  Mohammed.^  Among  those,  said  Mohammed,  whom 
God  will  cover  with  His  shadow  in  the  day  when  there 
is  no  shadow,  is  "  the  man  who  does  alms  and  keeps  it 
secret,  so  that  his  left  hand  does  not  know  what  his 
right  hand  doeth."  ^  Abdullah  bin  Mas'ud  said :  "  I  saw  the 
Prophet  of  God,  when  the  people  struck  him  and  abused 
him,  that  he  brushed  the  blood  off  his  face  and  said, '  0 
God !  forgive  my  people,  for  they  know  not  what  they 
do.' "  The  commentators  ignorantly  add  that  Moham- 
med here  quoted  a  saying  of  Noah  the  prophet !  The 
companions     of   the    Prophet   are  quoted   as    saying, 

^  Koelle,  Mohammed  and  Mohammedanism,  pp.  242-446. 
'^  Go\diZ\\\QV, Muhammedanische  Studien,  vol.  11,  pp.  381-404. 
^  Al  Muwatta,  vol.  iv.  p.  171. 


150  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

"  Be  harmless  as  doves  " ;  and  the  greater  number  of 
the  inhabitants  of  paradise,  Mohammed  is  reported  to 
have  said,  are  "  the  poor  in  spirit." 

The  most  remarkable  example  which  Goldziher 
gives,  is  the  use  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  which  in  the 
Hadith  is  also  attributed  to  Mohammed.  Abu  al 
Darda'i  is  reported  to  have  said  that  the  prophet 
said,  "  When  any  one  is  in  suffering,  or  his  brother 
suffers,  then  let  him  pray  this  prayer :  '  Our  Lord 
God  who  art  in  heaven,  hallowed  be  Thy  name.  Thy 
kingdom  is  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  and  even  as  Thy 
mercy  is  in  heaven,  so  may  Thy  mercy  also  be  upon 
earth.  Forgive  us  our  debts  and  our  sins,  for  Thou 
art  the  Lord  of  the  good.  Send  down  mercy  from 
Thy  mercy  and  healing  from  Thy  healing  for  those 
suffering,  that  they  may  begin  to  heal. ' "  ^ 

Groldziher  gives  other  instances,  and  shows  conclus- 
ively that  even  as  in  the  case  of  Mohammed's  life,  so 
in  the  case  of  Mohammed's  teaching,  any  fragments 
of  the  life  and  teaching  of  Christ  which  could  add  to 
the  glory  of  the  prophet,  were  without  scruple  incor- 
porated in  later  tradition.  It  is  no  wonder  that  if  such 
a  Mohammed,  transformed  at  least  in  measure  into  the 
character  if  not  into  the  image  of  Christ,  is  enthroned 
in  the  hearts  of  Mohammedans,  they  should  be  hard  to 

^  One  of  the  younger  contemporaries  of  Mohammed,  wlio  was  a  late 
convert  to  Islam,  but  afterwards  became  one  of  the  greatest  Koran 
scholars.  Under  Othman  he  was  the  public  prayer-reader  in  Damascus, 
where  he  died  a.h.  652. — Hoittsma,  Encyclopedia  of  Islam,  p.  82. 

-  Ahu  Daood^  vol.  i.  p.  101. 


HIS  TEACHING  151 

win.^  As  Koelle  remarks,  "  What  a  mass  of  rubbish 
has  to  be  swept  away  from  the  path  of  the  pious  Moslem 
before  his  vision  can  become  unimpeded  and  free 
enough  to  perceive  the  all-surpassing  spiritual  majesty 
of  Him  who  could  say,  He  who  hath  seen  Me  hath 
seen  the  Father."  ^ 

Except  for  the  opinion  that  Jesus  Christ  is  a  true 
prophet  and  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  prophets  before 
the  time  of  Mohammed,  the  masses  of  the  people  in  the 
Moslem  world  have  no  conception  of  the  message  which 
Jesus  Christ  came  to  bring,  nor  of  the  character  of  His 
teaching  as  distinguished  from  that  of  Moses  and  the 
Old  Testament  prophets.  And  we  must  add  to  this  that  if 
the  death  and  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  are  the 
cardinal  truths  of  the  Gospel,  these  truths  are  not  only 
obscured,  but  contradicted  by  the  Koran  and  tradition, 
so  that  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  understood 
by  Mohammedans,  we  must  leave  out  everything  that 
relates  to  the  Incarnation,  the  Atonement,  and  salvation 
from  sin  by  faith  in  His  name.  Nowhere  in  the  Koran 
or  in  tradition  is  there  any  trace  of  the  great  Christian 
doctrine  of  justification  by  faith.  As  in  regard  to  the 
person  of  Christ,  so  in  regard  to  His  teaching,  Islam 
is  anti-Christian. 

^  The  great  truths  of  Christianity  centre  in  the  person  of  its  Founder. 
In  a  different  way  Islam  is  bound  up  with  the  personality,  even  in  the 
minutest  details,  of  its  prophet ;  '*inall  matters  small  and  great  he  is  their 
perfect  example,"  says  Rev.  W.  A.  Rice.  No  Moslem  is  apt,  therefore, 
to  have  a  higher  opinion  of  our  Saviour  than  Mohammed  himself  had. 

-  Koelle,  Moh((,mmed  and  Mohammedanism,  preface,  p.  vii. 


VII 

JESUS  CHRIST  SUPPLANTED  BY 
MOHAMMED 


153 


"As  there  is  only  one  God,  so  there  can  be  only  one 
gospel.  If  God  has  really  done  something  in  Christ  on 
which  the  salvation  of  the  world  depends,  and  if  He  has 
made  it  known,  then  it  is  a  Christian  duty  to  be  intoler- 
ant of  everything  Avhich  ignores,  denies,  or  explains  it 
away.  The  man  who  perverts  it  is  the  worst  enemy  of 
God  and  men  ;  and  it  is  not  bad  temper  or  narrow- 
nnndedness  in  St.  Paul  which  explains  this  vehement 
language  (Galatians  1:9);  it  is  the  jealousy  of  God  which 
has  kindled  in  a  soul  redeemed  by  the  death  of  Christ  a 
corresponding  jealousy  for  the  Saviour." — James  Denney 
in  The  Death  of  Christ,  p.  110. 


X54 


VII 

JESUS  CHRIST  SUPPLANTED  BY 
MOHAMMED 

AS  in  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  the  glory  and  the 
beauty  of  the  heavenly  orb  are  hidden,  and  only 
the  corona  appears  on  the  edge,  so  in  the  life  and 
thought  of  Mohammedans  their  own  prophet  has 
almost  eclipsed  Jesus  Christ.  The  general  idea  of  His 
life,  as  we  have  gathered  it  from  many  Moslem  sources, 
is,  after  all,  vague,  shadowy,  and  not  at  all  clearly  out- 
lined in  the  mind  of  Moslems.  An  Arab  from  Hassa 
expressed  this  truth  a  few  days  ago  when  he  said  to 
me :  "  Until  my  wife  became  a  Christian  I  knew 
nothing  of  Jesus  whatever,  only  His  name,  and  that  He 
was  a  Prophet ! "  Whatever  place  Jesus  Christ  may 
occupy  in  the  Koran — and  the  portrait  there  given  is 
a  sad  caricature ;  whatever  favourable  critics  may  say 
about  Christ's  honourable  place  among  the  Moslem 
prophets,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  the  large  bulk  of 
Mohammedans  know  extremely  little,  and  think  still 
less,  of  Jesus  Christ.     He  has  no  place  in  their  hearts 

155 


156  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

nor  in  their  lives.  All  the  prophets  have  not  only  been 
succeeded,  but  supplanted  by  Mohammed;  he  is  at 
once  the  sealer  and  concealer  of  all  former  revelations. 
Mohammed  is  always  in  the  foreground,  and  Jesus 
Christ,  in  spite  of  His  lofty  titles  and  the  honour 
given  Him  in  the  Koran,  is  in  the  background. 
There  is  not  a  single  biography  of  Jesus  Christ  stand- 
ing by  Himself,  alone  and  unique,  as  a  great  prophet 
of  God,  to  be  found  in  the  literature  of  Islam. 
Christ  is  grouped  with  the  other  prophets;  with 
Lot,  Alexander  the  Great,  Ishmael,  Moses,  Abraham, 
Adam. 

We  cannot  forget  this  fact  when  we  try  to  form  a 
conception  of  the  Moslem  Christ.  It  is  because  of  this 
that  Islam  presents  difficulties  offered  by  no  other 
religion  in  the  work  of  missions.  "  It  cannot  be  treated 
like  any  other  religion,"  says  Eev.  W.  H.  T.  Gairdner ; 
"  it  baffles  more  than  any  other,  for  it  is  more  difficult 
to  concede  to  it  what  is  gladly  conceded  to  other 
religions  that  appeared  before  Christ,  that  they  in  some 
part  prepared  and  prepare  the  way  for  Him.  How 
can  that  which  denies  the  whole  essential  and  particular 
content  of  the  message  be  said  to  prepare  for  Him,  or 
to  be  a  half-way  house  to  His  kingdom  ?  For  that  is 
what  Islam  does.  Other  religions  know  nothing  of 
Christianity ;  one  and  all  they  came  before  it,  and 
speak  of  it  neither  good  nor  evil.  But  the  whole 
theory  of  Islam  is  that  it,  the  latest  sent  of  all  religions, 
does  not  so  much  abrogate  Christianity  with  its  Book, 


Translation  of  Page  fkom  the  Book  entitled 
"Dala'il  el  Kheieat." 

"  0  God  !  pray  for  the  Moon  of  Perfection.  0  God  ! 
pray  for  the  Light  that  shines  in  the  darkness. 
0  God!  pray  for  the  Key  to  the  door  of  peace. 
0  God !  pray  for  the  Intercessor  of  all  humanity  ' 
0  Thou  Mercy  of  God !  (Mohammed)  I  am  afraid 
and  terrified.  0  Thou  Grace  of  God  !  I  am  bankrupt ; 
help  Thou  me.  I  have  no  good  work  in  which  I  can 
put  my  trust,  save  Thy  great  love  and  my  faith  in  Thee. 
Be  Thou  my  safety  from  the  evil  of  this  life,  and  in  the 
hour  of  death,  and  deliver  my  body  from  the  fire." 


Facsimile  Page  from  the  Book  entitled 
"Dala'il  el  Kheikat," 

in  which  Mohammed  is  considered  the  sole  intercessor  and  the  channel 
of  communication  between  the  believer  and  God. 


CHRIST  SUPPLANTED  BY  MOHAMMED    157 

as  specifically  and  categorically  deny  both  as  wilful 
corruption  and  lies."  ^ 

The  sin  and  the  guilt  of  the  Mohammedan  world  is 
that  they  give  Christ's  glory  to  another,  and  that  for 
all  practical  purposes  Mohammed  himself  is  the  Moslem 
Christ.  The  life  and  character  of  Mohammed  as  por- 
trayed for  us  by  his  earliest  biographers,  who  were  all 
his  faithful  followers  and  admirers,  leaves  no  doubt 
that  he  was  thoroughly  human  and  liable  to  error. 
Later  tradition  has  changed  all  this,  and  made  him  sin- 
less and  almost  divine.  The  two  hundred  and  one 
titles  of  honour  given  to  Mohammed  proclaim  his 
apotheosis.  These  names  and  titles  are  current  in  all 
popular  books  of  devotion  among  Moslems,  from 
Morocco  to  China ;  are  separately  printed  and  learned 
by  heart  in  Moslem  schools.  The  list  which  follows 
contains  at  least  two  score  of  names  that  Christians 
would  apply  only  to  Christ,  and  many  of  them  are  by 
Mohammedans  themselves  applied  to  God  as  well  as 
to  their  prophet,  namely — 

Mohammed,  Ahmed,  Hamid,  Mahmood,  the  Unique, 

The  Only,  The  Forgiver,  the  Eaiser  of  the  Dead,  The 

Avenger,  "  Ta  Ha,"  "  Ya  Seen,"  2  The  Pure,  The  Purified, 

The  Good,  The  Lord,  The  Apostle,  The  Prophet,^  The 

Apostle  of   Mercy,  The  Manager,  The   Gatherer,  The 

Follower,  The  Leader,  The  Apostle  of  War,  The  Apostle 

1  W.  H.  T.  Gairdner,  The  Reproach  of  Islam,  p.  141. 
^  Titles  of  two  chapters  in  the  Koran. 

^  On  Mohammed  as  the  foreteller  of  future  events,  see  Carletti, 
Idhar-iU-ffak,  vol.  ii.  pp.  145-154. 


158  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

of  Rest,  The  Perfect,  The  Crown,  The  Wrapped  One, 
The  Covered  One,  Servant  of  God,  Beloved  of  God, 
Chosen  of  God,  Companion  of  God,  Mouthpiece  of  God, 
Seal  of  Prophets,  Seal  of  Apostles,  The  QuicJcener,  The 
Deliverer,  The  Reminder,  The  Victorious,  The  Victor, 
Prophet  of  Mercy,  Prophet  of  Repentance,  The  Watcher, 
The  Well-known,  The  Famous,  The  Witness,  The 
Martyr,  The  Witnessed,  Bringer  of  Good  Tidings,  The 
Preacher,  The  One  under  Vows,  The  Warner,  The  Light, 
The  Lamp,  The  Candle,  The  Guidance,  The  Guide,  The 
Mahdi,  The  Enlightener,  The  Summoner,  The  Called 
One,  The  Ansiverer  of  Prayer,  The  Interceder,  The 
Hidden,  The  Pardoner,  The  Saint,  The  Truth,  The  Strong, 
The  Faithful,  The  Entrusted  One,  The  Gracious,  The 
Honoured,  The  Valiant,  The  Mighty,  The  Evident,  The 
Mediator,  The  Bestower,  The  Able,  The  Honourable, 
The  Exalted,  The  Possessor  of  Might,  The  Possessor  of 
Grace,  The  Obedient,  The  Subjector,  The  Benevolent, 
The  Merciful,  The  Good  Tidings,  The  Assister,  The 
Provider,  The  Benefactor,  The  Mercy  of  God,  The  Gift 
of  God,  The  Strong  Refuge,  The  Way  of  God,  The 
Straight  Way,  The  Memorial  of  God,  The  Sword  of 
God,  The  Portion  of  God,  The  Shining  Star,  The  Exalted, 
The  Corrector  of  Evil,  The  Bearer  of  Faults,  The 
Illiterate,  The  Chosen  One,  The  Rewarded,  The  Mighty 
One,  Abu  Kasim,  Abu  Tahir,  Abu  Tayyib,  Abu  Ibrahim, 
The  Intercessor,  The  Interceder,  The  Pious,  The  Peace 
Maker,  The  Guarder,  The  Truthful,  The  Upright,  Verity, 
Lord  of  Apostles,  Leader  of  the  Pious,  Leader  of  Pure 


CHRIST  SUPPLANTED  BY  MOHAMMED    159 

Women,  Friend  of  the  Merciful,  Righteousness,  The 
Justifier,  The  Illustrious,  The  Adviser,  The  Man  of 
Counsel,  The  Undertaker,  The  Entrusted,  The  Surety, 
The  Compassionate,  The  Founder  of  the  Law,  The  Holy 
One,  Holy  Spirit,  The  Spirit  of  Truth,  The  Spirit  of 
Kectitude,  The  All-Sufficient,  The  Sufficer,  The  Perfect 
One,  The  One  who  Attained,  The  Healer,  The  Giver, 
The  Gift,  The  Fore-runner,  The  Rear  Guard,  The  Rightly 
Guided,  The  Right  Guidance,  The  Beginner,  ThQ  Precious, 
The  Honoured,  The  Honour-laden,  The  Opener,  The  Key, 
The  Key  of  Mercy,  The  Key  of  Paradise,  The  Source  of 
Faith,  The  Source  of  Truth,  The  Guide  to  Plenty,  The 
Selected  One,  The  Purifier  of  Good  Works,  The  Pardoner 
of  Sins,  The  Lord  of  Intercession,  The  Highly  Exalted, 
The  Most  Noble,  The  Essence  of  Power,  The  Essence  of 
Glory,  The  Essence  of  Honour,  The  One  who  Helps,  The 
One  who  has  a  Sword,  The  One  who  has  Praise,  The  One 
who  has  a  Covering,  The  Argument,  The  Sultan,  The 
Possessor  of  the  Cloak,  The  Possessor  of  High  Degree, 
The  Possessor  of  the  Crown,  The  Possessor  of  the 
Helmet,  The  Possessor  of  the  Banner,  One  who  ascended 
to  Heaven,  The  Possessor  of  the  Sceptre,  The  Possessor 
of  the  Seal,  The  Possessor  of  Boraak,i  The  Possessor 
of  the  Sign,  The  Possessor  of  the  Proof,  The  Possessor 
of  the  Argument,  The  Eloquent,  The  Pure  of  Heart, 
The  Gracious  One,  The  Pitiful,  The  Ear  of  Goodness, 
The  Perfection  of  Islam,  Lord  of  Two  Worlds,  The  Eye 

^  The  famous  animal  on  which  Mohammed  made  his  night  journey 
to  heaven. 


160  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

of  Kindness,  The  Eye  of  Brilliancy,  The  Helper  of  God, 
The  Helper  of  Men,  The  Pleader  for  the  Nations,  The 
Knowledge  of  Truth,  The  Discloser  of  Secrets,  The 
Elevator  of  the  Lowly,  The  Glory  of  the  Arabs,  The 
One  who  has  Victory. 

Some  of  these  titles,  as  we  have  indicated  by  printing 
them  in  italics,  are  similar  to  those  given  to  God 
Himself.  Mohammed  is  also  called  the  Light  of  God, 
the  Peace  of  the  World,  the  Glory  of  the  Ages,  the  First 
of  all  Creatures,  and  other  names  of  yet  greater  import. 
One  tradition  goes  so  far  as  to  say,  "  No  man  in  what- 
soever condition  he  is  can  resemble  God  so  much  as 
thou  dost.  But  if  there  could  be  an  image  to  represent 
God  as  He  is,  it  could  be  no  other  than  thyself."  ^ 

No  Moslem  prays  to  Mohammed,  but  every  Moslem 
prays  for  him  in  endless  repetition  daily.  In  spite  of 
statements  in  the-  Koran  to  the  contrary,  most  Moslems 
believe  that  he  will  be  the  only  intercessor  on  the  day 
of  judgment.  The  books  of  devotion  used  everywhere 
are  proof  of  this  statement.  God  favoured  him  above 
all  creatures ;  he  dwells  in  the  highest  heaven,  and  is 
several  degrees  above  Jesus  in  honour  and  station. 
Mohammed  holds  the  keys  of  heaven  and  hell:  no 
Moslem,  however  bad  his  character,  will  perish  finally ; 
no  unbeliever,  however  good  his  life,  can  be  saved  except 
through  Mohammed.  Islam  denies  the  need  of  Christ 
as  Mediator,  only  to  substitute  Mohammed  as  a 
mediator,  without  an  incarnation,  without  an  atonement, 
^  Quoted  in  W.  A.  Rice,  Crusaders  of  the  Twentieth  Century,  p.  15. 


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CHRIST  SUPPLANTED  BY  MOHAMMED    161 

and  without  demand  for  a  change  of  character.  One 
has  only  to  question  the  Moslem  masses,  or  to  read 
tradition  in  proof  of  these  statements.^ 

Every  detail  of  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ  has 
been  imitated  and  parodied  by  Mohammed's  later 
biographers  and  admirers.  "En  se  developpant,  la 
theologie  musulmane,"  says  Rene  Basset,  "plus  au 
courant  du  christianisme,  tendit  a  en  rapprocher  de 
plus  en  plus  le  fondateur  de  I'islam  et  k  attribuer  k 
celui-ci  les  miracles  qui  devaient  le  rendre  au  moins 
r^gal  de  Jesus.  Cette  deviation  de  I'idee  reelle  qu'on 
avait  du  Prophete,  commen^a  de  bonne  heure  et  ne  fit 
que  s'accroitre  avec  le  temps.  De  la,  les  prodiges 
caiques  sur  ceux  que  rapportaient  les  Evangiles  et  qui 
sont  en  opposition  complete  avec  les  sentiments  reels 
de  Mohammed."  ^  In  the  commentary  on  the  poem  in 
praise  of  Mohammed  (from  the  introduction  to  which 
these  words  are  taken)  the  author  shows  scriptural 
parallels  in  this  Coronation  hymn  of  Islam  to  every 
exaggerated  word  of  praise  there  attributed  to  the 
Arabian  prophet.  Dr.  Koelle  has  shown  in  great 
detail  ^  how  Moslem  authors  attribute  to  their  prophet 
an  equality  with,  and  even  a  superiority  to,  the  Prophet 
of  Nazareth,  by  ascribing  to  him  all  the  glory  which 
centres  around  the  Christ  in  the  New  Testament. 
Pre-existence    is    ascribed    to    Mohammed,    and    his 

^  Cf.  Islam :  A  Challenge  to  Faith,  pp.  48,  49. 
-  Rene  Basset,  La  Bordah  du  Cheikh  el  Bousiri,  Poeme  en  I'lionueur 
de  Mohammed  traduit  et  commented.     Paris,  1894,  p.  xi. 
^  Koelle,  Mohammed  and  Mohammedanism ,  pp.  242-372. 
II 


162  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

genealogy  is  traced  through  Abraham  to  Adam,  as 
in  the  case  of  Jesus  Christ.  An  angel  announced 
Mohammed's  conception  and  birth  and  the  name  which 
he  was  to  bear.  Mohammed,  like  Jesus,  was  lost  in 
his  childhood  and  found  again,  and  at  the  age  of 
twelve  he  took  a  special  journey.  After  the  commence- 
ment of  his  public  ministry  Mohammed,  like  Jesus, 
passed  through  a  remarkable  ordeal  of  Satanic  tempta- 
tion. He,  like  Jesus  Christ,  chose  twelve  apostles. 
His  enemies  were  those  of  his  own  household,  and  he 
was  recognised  by  spirits  from  the  unseen  world  more 
readily  than  by  those  to  whom  he  was  sent.  The 
demons  knew  Jesus ;  the  jinn  accepted  Islam  at  the 
hands  of  Mohammed.  The  Transfiguration  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  surpassed  by  the  story  of  Mohammed's  ascent 
into  heaven,  where  he  had  personal  communion  with 
all  the  previous  prophets,  and  leaving  Jesus  far  below 
in  the  second  heaven,  himself  mounted  to  the  seventh, 
where,  according  to  Moslem  tradition,  he  ate  and 
drank  with  God.^ 

1  The  following  account  of  this  journey  is  given  in  MisTcat-ul-Misahih  : 
"Whilst  I  was  sleeping  upon  my  side,  he  (Gabriel)  came  to  me, 
and  cut  me  open  from  my  breast  to  below  my  navel,  and  took  out 
my  heart,  and  washed  the  cavity  with  Zam-zam  water,  and  then 
filled  my  heart  with  Faith  and  Science.  After  this  a  white  animal 
was  brought  for  me  to  ride  upon.  Its  size  was  between  that  of  a 
mule  and  an  ass,  and  it  stretched  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see.  The 
name  of  the  animal  was  Buraq.  Then  I  mounted  the  animal, 
and  ascended  until  we  arrived  at  the  lowest  heaven,  and  Gabriel 
demanded  that  the  door  should  be  opened.  And  it  was  asked,  '  Who 
is  it?'  and  he  said,  'I  am  Gabriel.'  And  they  then  said,  'Who  is 
with  you?'  and  he  answered,  'It  is  Muhammad.'    They  said,  'Has 


CHRIST  SUPPLANTED  BY  MOHAMMED     163 

Koelle  quotes  traditions  to  show  that,  as  Jesus 
Christ  to  us,  so  to  Moslems,  Mohammed  is  above  all 
other  men  in  worth  and  dignity.  He  was  the  greatest 
and  best  of  all  God's  messengers;  his  body  the 
true  temple  in  which  the  Divine  Presence  dwelt. 
Mohammed  bore  the  divine  seal  of  prophecy,  and  im- 
parted divine  benefits  by  laying  on  his  hands.  As  a 
parody  of  the  mystery  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  Mohammed 

Muhammad  been  called  to  the  office  of  a  prophet  ? '     He  said,  '  Yes.' 
They  said,  'Welcome,  Muhammad;  his  coming  is  well.'     Then  the 
door  was  opened ;  and  when  I  arrived  in  the  first  heaven,  behold,  I 
saw  Adam.     And  Gabriel  said  to  me,   '  This  is  your  father  Adam, 
salute  him.'     Then  I  saluted  Adam,  and  he  answered  it,  and  said, 
'  You  are  welcome,  0   good  son,  and  good  Prophet  ! '     After  that 
Gabriel  took  me  above,  and  we  reached  the  second  heaven  ;  and  he 
asked  the  door  to  be  opened,  and  it  was  .said,  '  Who  is  it  ? '     He  said, 
'I   am  Gabriel.'      It  was   said,    'Who    is    with   you?'      He   said, 
*  Muhammad. '    It  was  said,  '  Was  he  called  ? '    He  said,  *  Yes. '    It  was 
said,  '  Welcome,  Muhammad  ;  his  coming  is  well.'    Then  the  door  was 
opened  ;  and  when   I   arrived  in   the  second  region,  behold,  I  saw 
John  and  Jesus  (sisters'  sons).     And  Gabriel  said,  '  This  is  John,  and 
this  is  Jesus  ;  salute  both  of  them.'     Then  I  saluted  them,  and  they 
returned  it.     After  that  they  said,    'Welcome,   good   brother  and 
Prophet.'  .  .  .  Then  I  entered  the  seventh  heaven,  and  behold,  I  saw 
Abraham.     And  Gabriel  said,  '  This  is  Abraham,  your  father,  salute 
him  ' ;  which  I  did,  and  he  returned  it,  and  said,  '  Welcome,  good 
son  and  good  Prophet.'     After  that  I  was  taken  up  to  the  tree  called 
Sidratu'  1-Muntaha ;  and  behold,  its  fruits  were  like  water-pots,  and 
its  leaves  like  elephant's  ears.     And  Gabriel  said,  *  This  is  Sidratu' 
l-Muntaha.'     And  I  saw  four  rivers  there  ;  two  of  them  hidden,  and 
two  manifest.     I   said    to    Gabriel,    'What  are  these?'     He   said, 
'  These  two  concealed  rivers  are  in  Paradise ;  and  the  two  manifest 
are  the  Nile  and  the  Euphrates.'     After  that  I  was  shown  the  Baitu' 
1-M'amur.     After  that,  a  vessel  full  of  wine,  another  fall  of  milk, 
and  another  of  honey  were  brought  to  me,  and  I  took  the  milk  and 
drank  it.      And    Gabriel    said,    '  Milk  is    religion ;    you  and  your 
people  will  be  of  it."     Cf.  the  commentators  on  Surah  7  : 1. 


164  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

is  said  to  have  sanctioned  the  drinking  of  his  own 
blood.  When  Malik  bin  Sinan  sucked  his  wounds, 
swallowing  the  blood,  the  prophet  exclaimed,  "Any 
one  whose  blood  touches  mine,  him  the  fire  of  hell  shall 
not  destroy." 

The  miracles  of  Jesus  Christ,  even  the  fantastic 
miracles  given  by  Moslem  tradition,  shrink  into  in- 
significance compared  with  the  miracles  ascribed  to 
Mohammed  by  tradition.  Feeding  a  hungry  multitude 
with  a  handful  of  dates,  opening  the  eyes  of  the  blind, 
healing  the  sick,  turning  barren  lands  into  fruitful 
fields,  and  raising  the  dead, — all  these  and  many  other 
things  are  attributed  to  Mohammed.^ 

In  his  death  as  well  as  in  his  life  Mohammed  is 
made  to  resemble  Jesus  Christ.  His  death  was  fore- 
told; it  was  not  unavoidable,  but  freely  accepted  by 
him ;  he  died  a  martyr's  death,  and  his  sufferings  were 
meritorious,  taking  away  sin  and  helping  those  who 
believe  in  him  to  enter  paradise.  "It  is  recorded 
on  the  testimony  of  Ali  that  three  days  after  his 
Excellency's  funeral  there  came  an  Arab,  who  threw 
himself  down  upon  the  prince's  grave,  and  took  a 
handful  of  earth  from  it,  casting  it  on  his  own  head, 
and  then  called  out,  '  0  Apostle  of  God,  thou  hast 
spoken  it,  from  thee  we  have  heard  it,  thou  hast 
received  it  from  God,  and  we   have  received  it  from 

1  Cf.  Carletti,  Idhar-ul-Hak,  vol.  ii.  pp.  154-190  :  he  gives  forty 
miracles.  Also,  Two  Hundred  and  Fifty -two  Authentic  Miracles  of 
Mohammed,  by  Maulvi  Mohammad  Inayat  Ahmad.  Translated  and 
published  by  the  Mohammedan  Tract  and  Book  Depot.     Lahore,  1894. 


CHRIST  SUPPLANTED  BY  MOHAMMED    165 

thee,  and  it  is  derived  from  those  who  came  down  to 
thee,  that  noble  verse,  "  And  if  they  have  darkened 
their  souls,  let  them  come  unto  thee  ! "  I  have  brought 
darkness  on  my  soul :  but  I  am  come  to  thee  as  a 
confounded,  bewildered  sinner,  that  thou  mayest  ask 
pardon  for  me  of  the  Most  High.'  Then  there  came 
forth  a  voice  from  that  Excellency's  tomb,  saying 
three  times, '  Thou  hast  been  pardoned,  thou  hast  been 
pardoned.' "  ^ 

Not  only  are  all  these  superhuman  characteristics 
and  divine  glories  ascribed  to  Mohammed  in  tradition, 
but  he  is  the  Prophet  to  whom  all  former  prophets 
bore    witness,   and    concerning    whose    coming    they 
testified.2     "Wahab   bin    Minbeh   said  that  the  Most 
High  sent   the   following   revelation    to   the   prophet 
Isaiah:  '  I  will  send  a  prophet  who  is  to  be  unlettered, 
and  by  his  name  I  will  open  the  ears  of  the  deaf,  and 
the  minds  of  the  listless ;  and  I  will  clothe  him  with 
gravity,  and  I  will  make  goodness  his  outward  mark, 
and  godliness  and  temperance  his  inward  mind:  and 
wisdom  his  understanding ;  and  truth  and  purity  his 
nature,  and  propriety  his  disposition;  and  equity  his 
practice ;  and  truth  his  law ;  and  right  guidance  his 
leader;  and  Islam  his  people;  and  his  name  Ahmed. 
And  through  him  I  will  show  to  his  people  the  right 
way   out   of   error,  and   the   way  of   knowledge  after 
ignorance;   and    by  his   name    I  will   make   the   few 

1  Koelle,  MoJiammed  and  Mohammedanism,  p.  373. 
-  Cf.  Sayous,  Jtsus  Christ,  etc.,  pp.  82-85. 


166  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

many  and  the  divided  united ;  and  will  bring  amongst 
the  separated  hearts  and  the  antagonistic  nations 
harmony  and  intimacy  ;  and  his  people  shall  be  superior 
to  every  other ;  and  they  shall  pay  respect  to  the  light 
of  the  sun,  i.e.  they  shall  look  to  the  sun  to  know  the 
right  time  for  prayer.'  "  ^  On  the  same  authority,  God 
gave  the  following  revelation  to  Jesus :  "  Declare 
Mohammed  to  be  true,  and  believe  in  him ;  and  tell 
also  thy  people  that  those  of  them  who  reach  his  time 
should  believe  in  him.  0  thou  son  of  the  Virgin,  i.e. 
0  thou  Jesus,  know  thou,  that  if  it  had  not  been  for 
Mohammed,  I  should  not  have  created  Adam  and 
Paradise  and  Hell ;  and  the  truth  is,  that  when  I  made 
the  Throne,  it  shook  and  would  not  stand  firm  till  I 
wrote  upon  it,  *  There  is  no  God  but  Allah,  and 
Mohammed  is  the  Apostle  of  Allah,'  whereupon  it 
steadied  itself  and  became  quiet."  ^ 

Jesus  Christ  is  supplanted  by  Mohammed  not  only 
in  Moslem  tradition  and  in  the  hearts  of  the  common 
people  who  are  ignorant  and  illiterate.  He  is  sup- 
planted in  the  hearts  of  all  Moslems  by  Mohammed. 
They  are  jealous  for  his  glory  and  resist  any  attempt 
to  magnify  the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ  at  the  expense 
of  Mohammed.  When,  e.g.,  a  Christmas  vacation  was 
granted  in  certain  government  schools  of  Egypt,  the 
Moslem  paper  El   'Alain  entered  a  vigorous  protest, 

^  Koelle,  Mohammed  and  Moha7)imcdanisin,  p.  430. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  431.  There  are  numerous  traditions  of  this  character 
in  all  the  later  biographies  of  Mohammed.  See,  for  example,  Insan- 
ul-Ayim,  Dakaik-id-Aklihar,  or  Kasus-id-Anhiya. 


CHRIST  SUPPLANTED  BY  MOHAMMED    167 

calliug  it  a  dangerous  innovation,  and  stating  that 
Egypt  was  a  Moslem  country,  and  that  Moslems  as 
such  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  birthday  of  Jesus. 
"  Keep  your  feast  day ;  we  will  have  nothing  to  do 
with  it."  1 

"  You  will  be  interested  to  know,"  writes  a  missionary 
from  Turkey  under  the  new  regime,  "  that  the  birthday 
of  Mohammed  is  now  kept,  beginning  with  last  year, 
and  all  the  schools  are  closed  for  the  day.  It  is 
reckoned  the  most  important  holiday  in  the  year,  and 
we  must  give  our  Moslem  boys  the  day  off.  In 
Smyrna,  where  all  Government  and  Custom  depart- 
ments observed  Sunday  instead  of  Friday  as  a  holiday, 
because  this  city  is  so  largely  Christian,  we  hear  the 
custom  will  now  be  reversed,  and  Friday  established 
as  the  weekly  holiday."  ^ 

The  new  Islam  does  not  hesitate  to  apply  the  very 
name  of  The  Messiah  to  Mohammed,  as  the  old  Islam 
does  His  office  as  Mediator.^     In  a  series  of  articles 


1  El  Alam.     Cairo,  26tli  December  1910. 

"  The  Moslem  press  in  Egypt  is  also  resisting  every  attempt  on 
the  part  of  the  Copts  to  secure  Sunday  as  a  day  of  rest  from 
Government  service.  El  Mueyyed  (18th  March  1911)  in  a  leading 
article  of  ten  columns  quoted  largely  from  the  New  Testament  to  prove 
that  if  any  day  ought  to  be  observed  it  was  Saturday,  and  that  the 
Copts  had  no  right  to  claim  Sunday,  because  Jesus  and  His  apostles 
did  not  observe  the  day. 

^  Sayous,  Jesics- Christ  cVapres  Mahomet,  chap,  vi :  "  Les  passages 
de  I'ancient  Testament  sont  derob6s  a  la  gloire  de  Jesus-Christ  pour 
enrichir  celle  du  prophete  pillard  et  d'ailleurs  I'idee  meme  d'une 
prophetic  Messianique  est  un  emprunt  evident  a  la  theologie 
chretienne." 


168  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

on  Islam  and  Socialism  in  a  leading  review  of  India, 
Mushir  Hosain  Kidwai  speaks  thus  of  Mohammed: — 

"  The  time  was  ripe  because  the  moral,  social, 
religious,  and  political  state  of  the  whole  peninsula 
had  reached  the  depth  of  degradation.  Human 
sacrifice  to  idols,  the  burying  alive  of  infants,  mis- 
appropriation of  property  and  exploitation  of  the 
money  of  helpless  orphans,  forced  marriages  of  girls 
and  minors,  cruel  treatment  of  slaves,  unrestricted 
polygamy  and  concubinage,  wild  despotism,  vengeful 
blood-feuds,  individualistic  egotism,  class  and  birth 
arrogance,  and  other  vices,  demanded  from  a  merciful 
Providence  the  commission  of  a  real  Messiah,  to  clear 
the  putrid  atmosphere  of  Arabian  society,  and  to  save 
humanity,  which  was  then  in  a  state  most  susceptible 
to  infection,  from  a  dangerous  calamity. 

"Fortunately  for  the  progress  of  the  world,  the 
Messiah  did  come.  He  came  and  miraculously  meta- 
morphosed the  whole  Arabian  society  by  masterly 
introducing  the  principles  of  true  Socialism  in  almost 
every  phase  of  human  life.  He  came  and  brightened 
the  gloomy  aspect  of  the  whole  world  by  inspiring 
humanity  through  a  universal  faith,  with  the  loftiest 
conceptions  of  Divinity  and  purest  ethics  of  duty. 
If  Arabia  owes  its  glory  to  Socialism,  the  world  owes 
it  to  Islam.  And  Socialism  and  Islam  both  were 
perfected  by  the  Messiah,  who  cured  not  a  leper  or 
two,  but  the  whole  leprous  society ;  who  gave  a  new 
and  vigorous  life  not  to  a  few  dead  persons,  but  to 


CHRIST  SUPPLANTED  BY  MOHAMMED    169 

a  whole  nation ;  who  performed  not  only  supernatural 
miracles  of  but  superstitious  value  in  our  sceptical 
age,  but  material  and  everlasting  wonders,  whose  signs 
are  manifest  to  this  day;  who  ruled  not  only  over 
the  shifting  sands  that  form  a  mirage  of  temporary 
territorial  domains,  but  also  over  an  ever-increasing 
number  of  living  human  hearts,  which  sing  even 
now  the  same  song  that  he  set,  binding  them  together 
in  one  chord — the  Chord  of  God — the  truest  and  best 
socialism."  ^ 

In  the  Gospel  of  Barnahas,  a  spurious  document 
dating  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
and  not  referred  to  by  Moslems  until  after  Sale 
had  called  attention  to  it  in  his  translation  of  the 
Koran,  Mohammed  is  also  called  the  Messiah.  The 
Gospel  of  Barnahas  was  evidently  written  by  a  Christian 
renegade  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  has  for  its  special 
object  the  advancement  of  Islam,  the  author  desiring 
to  foist  upon  the  world  a  forgery  wliich  would 
strengthen  the  claims  of  Mohammed  and  prove  that 
Jesus  Christ  had  foretold  his  coming.  Every  reader 
of  the  Koran  knows  that  Jesus  Christ  is  spoken  of 
consistently  in  that  book  as  tlie  Messiah,  yet,  strange 
to  say,  this  Gospel  of  Barnahas  again  and  again  gives 
Mohammed  that  title,  while  Jesus  is  made  his  fore- 
runner, as  John  the  Baptist  was  to  Christ  in  the 
canonical  Gospels.  Thus  in  Chapter  LXXXIII,  where 
Jesus  is  speaking  to  the  Samaritan  women,  he  says, 

1  The  Hindustan  Review,  March-April  1911,  p.  300  (Allahabad.) 


170  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

"  I  am  indeed  sent  to  the  house  of  Israel  as  a  prophet 
of  salvation,  but  after  me  shall  come  the  Messiah,  sent 
of  God  to  all  the  world;  for  whom  God  hath  made 
the  world."  ^  In  Chapter  XLIII  Jesus  says,  "  If  the 
messenger  of  God  whom  ye  call  Messiah  were  son  of 
David,  how  should  David  call  him  Lord?  Believe 
me,  for  verily  I  say  unto  you  that  the  promise  was 
made  in  Ishmael,  not  in  Isaac."  And  again  in  the 
following  chapter:  "I  therefore  say  unto  you  that 
the  messenger  of  God  is  a  splendour  that  shall  give 
gladness  to  nearly  all  that  God  hath  made,  for  he 
is  adorned  with  the  spirit  of  understanding  and  of 
counsel,  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  might,  the  spirit  of 
fear  and  love,  the  spirit  of  prudence  and  temperance ; 
he  is  adorned  with  the  spirit  of  charity  and  mercy, 
the  spirit  of  justice  and  piety,  the  spirit  of  gentleness 
and  patience,  which  he  hath  received  from  God  three 
times  more  than  he  hath  given  to  all  his  creatures. 
0  blessed  time,  when  he  shall  come  to  the  world! 
Believe  me  that  I  have  seen  him  and  have  done  him 
reverence,  even  as  every  prophet  hath  seen  him ; 
seeing  that  of  his  spirit  God  giveth  to  them  prophecy. 
And  when  I  saw  him  my  soul  was  filled  with  consola- 
tion, saying :  '  0  Mohammed !  God  be  with  thee,  and 
may  He  make  me  worthy  to  untie  thy  shoe-latchet,  for 
obtaining  this  I  shall  be  a  great  prophet  and  holy 
one  of  God.'  And  having  said  this,  Jesus  rendered 
his  thanks  to  God."^ 

1  The  Gospel  of  Barnabas,  \).  191.  ^  /ji^^.^  p.  105. 


CHRIST  SUPPLANTED  BY  MOHAMMED    171 

Now  although  this  Gospel  of  Barnabas  is  evidently 
a  late  forgery,  it  is  more  and  more  being  used  by 
Moslems  as  an  argument  against  Christianity;  this 
shows  how,  with  the  centuries,  Mohammed  has  gradu- 
ally taken  the  place  of  Jesus  Christ  in  Moslem 
literature,  and  how  even  His  supreme  title  of  the 
Christ,  or  the  Messiah  has,  both  in  the  Middle  Ages 
and  in  current  periodical  literature,  been  given  to  the 
prophet  of  Arabia.1  Whether  the  title  of  Messiah  is 
given  him  or  not,  Mohammed  is  for  all  practical 
purposes  the  Moslem  Christ. 

Islam  is  indeed  the  only  anti- Christian  religion. 
This  world  faith  joins  issue  with  everything  that  is 
vital  in  the  Christian  religion,  because  it  joins  issue 
in  its  attitude  toward  the  Christ.  By  this  it  must 
stand  or  fall.  In  this  respect  all  schools  of  Moslem 
thought  are  practically  the  same.  They  differ  in 
ritual  and  tradition;  in  interpretations,  broad  or 
narrow;  in  going  back  to  the  old  Koran  or  in 
advocating  the  new  Islam;  but  whether  Shiahs  or 
Sunnis,  Wahabis  or  followers  of  Seyyid  Ameer  Ali, 
their  position  as  regards  the  Christ  is  practically 
the  same.^ 

1  Cf.  Recent  Moslem  literature  in  Egypt,  especially  Ahmed  Ali  El 
Malyee's  Jmvab  'an  Su'al  hadh  Ahl-cl-Utah, 

2  The  Shiah  sect  also  believe  that  Mahommed  has  superseded  Jesus 
Christ,  and  is  superior  to  Him  in  station  and  dignity  but  they  add 
that  Ali  also  is  in  every  respect  not  only  the  equal_  of  Jesus  Chnst 
but  superior  to  him.  See,  for  example,  the  book  entitled  Mnnakih  al 
Abtal,  hy  Mohammed  bin  Ali  bin  Shar  Ashub  (Bombay),  in  which  we 
are  told  (vol.  i.  p.  Ul)  that  even  as  Jesus  Christ's  miraculous  birth, 


172  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

"  Islam,"  says  Kev.  G.  Simon  of  Sumatra,  "  is  not  a 
preparation  for  Christianity ;  it  is  easier  to  build  on 
a  strange  soil  than  first  of  all  to  tear  down  old  build- 
ings which  are  so  firmly  set  together  that  they  offer 
an  unsurmountable  obstacle  to  demolition."  ^  The 
resolution  passed  by  the  Lucknow  Conference,  1911, 
expressed  this  sentiment  even  more  forcibly : — 

"  This  Conference  is  persuaded  that,  in  order  to 
stem  the  tide  of  Moslem  advance,  it  is  important  to 
strengthen  the  work  among  animistic  tribes,  pagan 
communities,  and  depressed  classes  affected  by  this 
advance;  for  we  are  clearly  of  opinion  that  adoption 
of  the  faith  of  Islam  by  the  pagan  people  is  in  no  sense 
whatever  a  stepping-stone  towards,  or  a  preparation 
for,  Christianity,  but  exactly  the  reverse." 

Christianity  gladly  admits  the  strength  of  theism  as 
a  basis  of  unity  between  Islam  and  Christianity.     We 

so  was  that  of  Ali,  only  in  more  noble  degree  ;  even  as  He  spoke 
before  His  birth  to  His  mother,  so  did  Ali ;  even  as  He  mastered 
learning  in  His  childhood,  so  did  Ali ;  even  as  Jesus  Christ  prophesied 
of  the  coming  of  Mohammed,  so  also  He  prophesied  concerning  Ali ; 
even  as  He  raised  the  dead,  so  did  Ali  ;  even  as  He  opened  the  eyes 
of  the  blind  and  cured  the  lepers,  so  did  Ali  ;  even  as  men  disagree  in 
regard  to  the  character  of  Jesus,  so  have  they  disagreed  in  regard  to 
the  character  of  Ali  ;  so  those  who  believe  in  Him  give  him  the 
highest  station. 

Cf.  the  extravagant  statements  regarding  the  intercession  of  Husain 
in  the  Miracle  Play  of  Hasan  and  Husain,  Col.  Sir  Lewis  Polly 
(London,  1879),  vol.  ii.  pp.  343-347,  where  Mohammed  says:  "Good 
tidings,  O  Husain  !  act  thou  according  to  thy  will.  Behold  the 
fulfilment  of  God's  promise.  Permission  has  proceeded  from  the 
Judge,  the  gracious  Creator,  that  I  should  give  to  thy  hand  this  key 
of  intercession,"  etc.  etc. 

^  Edinburgh  Conference  Report,  vol.  iv.  p.  147. 


CHRIST  SUPPLANTED  BY  MOHAMMED     173 

assert  as  strongly  as  do  all  Moslems  that  there  is  only 
one  God,  hut  hecausc  there  is  only  one  God  there  can  he 
only  one  Gospel  and  one  Christ.  The  words  quoted 
from  Dr.  James  Denney  at  the  head  of  this  chapter 
are  significant  in  this  connection.  "  It  pleased  the 
Father "  that  in  Jesus  Christ  "  all  fulness  should 
dwell " ;  not  in  Mohammed.  "  In  Him  dwelleth  all 
the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily  " ;  not  in  Mohammed. 
"  In  ffim  are  hid  all  treasures  of  wisdom  and  know- 
ledge " ;  not  in  Mohammed.  "  He  is  the  Way,  the 
Truth,  and  the  Life";  not  Mohammed.  This  is  the 
issue  which  cannot  be  avoided. 

The  only  Christianity  that  has  a  missionary  message 
for  the  Moslem  world  is  this  vital  Christianity.  It  is 
the  only  Christianity  that  can  meet  the  deepest  need 
of  our  Moslem  brethren.  Our  love  for  them  is  only 
increased  by  our  intolerance  of  their  rejection  of  the 
Christ ;  we  cannot  bear  it,  it  pains  us  ;  and  the  day  is 
coming  when  many  will  confess  Him  in  the  words  of 
a  Moslem  convert  to  a  Bible-woman  who  was  visiting 
her  :  "  /  see  now  that  the  very  centre  of  your  religion  is 
Christ,  and  I  want  to  love  and  serve  Hinfi!' 

The  main  question  even  as  regards  the  new  Islam 
is  not  how  much  nearer  they  have  come  to  Christian 
ethics  and  Christian  civilisation  in  their  attempts  to 
reform  the  old  system,  but  it  is  the  old  question, 
"  What  think  ye  of  the  Christ  ?" 


VIII 

HOW  TO  PREACH  CHRIST  TO  MOSLEMS 
WHO  KNOW  JESUS 


m 


"  Without  doubt,  it  is  no  light  thing  to  ask  a  man  to 
reconsider  his  religious  position,  and  see  where  in  the 
light  of  historical  fact  and  human  reason  he  stands  ;  and 
it  is  just  this  demand  that  we  make  on  our  Muhammadan 
brethren.  We  do  not  come  to  them  to  try  to  jn'ove  that 
their  theological  dogmas  are  wrong,  and  that  ours  are 
better  ;  that  their  religious  practices  are  tainted  with 
the  formalism  against  which  Jesus  threatened  His  most 
grievous  woes.  We  come  not  to  destroy,  but  simply  to 
ask  the  educated  Muhammadan  to  tell  us  what  ground 
he  has  for  passing  by  a  religious  faith  which  Muhammad 
himself  declared  to  be  the  truth.  For  we  maintain  that 
what  we  hold,  and  try  in  spite  of  all  the  failings  inherent 
in  poor  human  nature  to  practice,  is  simply  Christianity 
as  Jesus  taught  it — in  fact,  the  true  Islam,  which 
Muhammad  and  the  Qur'an  both  witnessed  to  as  being 
the  Religion  of  God."— Rev.  W.  R.  W.  Gaedner, 
Christianity  and  Muhammadanism. 


176 


VIII 

HOW  TO  PKEACH  CHRIST  TO  MOSLEMS 
WHO  KNOW  JESUS 

KNOWLEDGE  of  the  Moslem  Christ  as  portrayed 
in  the  previous  chapters  must  awaken  in  every 
Christian  heart  a  desire  to  lead  our  Moslem  brethren 
from  their  partial,  eccentric,  and  distorted  view  of  our 
Saviour  to  Him  in  whom  dwelleth  all  fulness  and  Who 
is  the  whole  truth ;  to  guide  them  from  the  twilight 
shadows  of  tradition  to  a  full-orbed  vision  of  the  Sun 
of  Kighteousness.  There  is  no  stronger  argument  or 
plea  for  missions  to  Moslems  than  their  conception 
of  our  Christ,  and  the  fact  that  Mohammed  has  usurped 
the  place  of  our  Saviour  in  so  many  hearts.  We  may 
well  voice  our  petitions  for  missions  to  Moslems  in  the 
words  of  Christ  Himself, "  Father,  the  hour  has  come  ; 
glorify  Thy  Son,  that  Thy  Son  also  may  glorify  Thee." 
A  passion  for  the  glory  of  God,  which  is  among  the 
highest  missionary  motives,  will  inspire  us  to  preach 
the  Christ  in  all  His  fulness  to  those  who  are  now 
following  Mohammed.  We  think  of  the  words  of 
Isaiah,  "  Jehovah,  that  is  My  name ;    and   My  glory 

12 


178  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

will  I  not  give  to  another,  nor  My  praise  to  graven 
images." 

In  considering  the  practical  outcome  of  our  study  of 
the  Moslem  Christ,  it  is  first  of  all  evident  that  the 
one  message  for  the  Moslem  world  and  for  each 
individual  Moslem,  is  Jesus  Christ.  Their  knowledge 
of  Him  is  so  inadequate,  so  distorted,  so  insufficient, 
and  so  utterly  obscured  by  the  glory  of  their  own 
prophet,  that  we  can  only  use  this  knowledge  as  a 
stepping-stone  to  higher  things.  "The  duty  seems 
plain,"  says  Dr.  James  S.  Dennis :  "  '  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature.'  The 
gospel  of  Christ,  not  of  Mohammed — to  every  creature, 
because  all  need  the  gospel.  If  there  were  a  possibility 
of  a  human  substitute  for  the  gospel,  we  might  consider 
it  an  open  question  whether  salvation  is  of  Mohammed ; 
but  Christ  has  taught  us  one  way  of  salvation  for  all 
men,  and  that  way  is  through  Him — through  the 
merits  of  His  sacrifice,  and  not  through  works  or 
worthiness  in  man.  I  would  not  be  understood  as 
implying  here  that  every  Moslem  is  necessarily  lost. 
If  he  despises  and  rejects  Christ,  and  puts  his  sole 
trust  in  Mohammed,  or  even  trusts  in  divine  mercy 
because  that  mercy  is  his  due  as  a  Moslem,  I  should 
not  feel  that  there  was  a  substantial  basis  of  hope  for 
him.  He  is  looking  to  a  human  saviour,  or  he  is  simply 
claiming  the  divine  mercy  as  a  subsidy  to  the  Moslem 
religion.  .  .  .  The  Christian  is  not  saved  because  he  is 
a  Christian.     The  Moslem,  of  course,  cannot  be  saved 


HOW  TO  PREACH  CHRIST  179 

because  he  is  a  Moslem.  All  who  may  be  saved  out- 
side of  formal  and  visible  connection  with  Christianity, 
will  be  saved  because  of  a  real  and  invisible  connection 
with  Christ.  They  will  have  obtained  consciously,  or 
unconsciously,  by  the  aid  of  God's  Spirit  that  attitude 
of  humility  and  trust  toward  God  which  will  make  it 
consistent  with  His  character  and  in  harmony  with 
His  wisdom  and  goodness  to  impart  to  their  souls  the 
free  gift  of  pardon  through  Christ's  merits,  and  apply 
to  them  in  the  gladness  of  His  love  the  benefits  of 
Christ's  death.  It  is  in  any  case  salvation  by  gift, 
received  from  God's  mercy,  and  based  upon  Christ's 
atonement,  and  not  by  works  or  by  reason  of  human 
merit.  We  claim,  therefore,  that  the  Mohammedan, 
as  such,  needs  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  and  can  only 
be  saved  through  Christ.  He  needs  to  be  taught 
Christianity  and  brought  into  the  light  of  Bible  truth. 
He  needs  to  recognise  the  dangerous  errors  of  his 
religion  and  turn  to  Christianity  as  the  true  light  from 
heaven.  He  needs  to  take  a  radically  different  and 
essentially  new  attitude  towards  Christ.  He  needs 
spiritual  regeneration  and  moral  reformation.  In  one 
word,  he  needs  the  Gospel.  He  needs  all  its  lessons, 
and  all  its  help,  and  all  its  inspiration.  Here  we  rest 
the  question  of  duty.  If  any  class  of  men  need  the 
gospel,  to  them  it  should  be  given,  and  it  is  our  mission 
in  the  world  as  Christians  to  do  this."  ^ 

^Dennis,    "Islam   and   Christian   Missions"    in    The    Missionary 
Review  of  the  World,  August  1889. 


180  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

We  have  quoted  these  words  at  length  because  even 
to-day  there  are  those  who  doubt  the  expediency  or 
even  the  possibility  of  missions  to  Moslems.  While 
the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  missionary  work  in  some 
Moslem  lands  may,  for  political  and  other  reasons, 
seem  most  formidable,  and  while  the  access  to  the 
individual  Moslem  heart  is  also  beset  with  baffling 
obstacles,  this  does  not  turn  away  our  responsibility 
or  our  privilege.  The  Church  of  Christ  should  make 
use  of  all  its  opportunities  to  deliver  the  gospel  message 
to  Moslems  in  full  expectation  that  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  whose  special  work  it  is  to  reveal  the 
Christ,  will  in  God's  own  time  lead  to  the  triumph 
of  Christianity  in  Moslem  lands  and  Moslem  hearts. 
It  has  been  remarked  with  truth  that  Islam  comes 
into  conflict  with  the  doctrinal  teachings  of  Christianity 
just  at  those  points  where  reason  has  the  best  vantage- 
ground  in  opposition  to  faith.  The  great  problems  of 
the  Incarnation,  the  deity  of  Christ,  and  the  Trinity 
are  stumbling-blocks  not  only  to  the  Moslem,  but  they 
are  the  very  problems  over  which  Christianity  herself 
has  pondered  with  amazement  and  awe,  and  with 
reference  to  which  there  have  been  divisions  in  the 
Church  itself;  but  these  unfathomable  mysteries  are 
the  very  heart  of  our  religion.  Without  them  Chris- 
tianity is  not  differentiated  from  other  faiths  and 
philosophies. 

The  very  fact  that  Islam,  beginning  without  a 
mediator   and   with   a   prophet   who   was   thoroughly 


HOW  TO  PREACH  CHRIST  181 

human,  should  in  the  course  of  centuries  have  ascribed 
to  him  the  offices  and  the  character  of  a  mediator  and 
a  Messiah,  can  be  used  as  an  argument  to  prove  that 
they  need  the  Christ.  In  this  also  imitation  is  the 
sincerest  flattery,  and  when  we  preach  Christ  to 
Moslems  who  know  of  Jesus,  we  are  presenting  to 
them  the  one  thing  lacking  in  their  faith  and  the 
one  unfulfilled  desire  in  their  lives.  If  the  Cross  of 
Christ  is  the  missing  link  in  their  creed,  then  the 
preaching  of  the  Cross,  although  it  may  seem  to  them 
foolishness,  will  yet  prove  among  Moslems  the  wisdom 
of  God  and  the  power  of  God.  "  Just  because  Islam 
is  the  antithesis  to  the  thesis  of  Christianity,  a  syn- 
thesis is  possible,  not  by  a  compromise  between 
Islam  and  Christianity,  but  by  bringing  to  clear 
expression  the  many  common  features  which  still 
remain,  and  by  showing  how  these  common  features 
are  found  in  a  truer  form  in  Christianity  than  in 
Islam."  1 

Of  all  the  common  features  on  which  we  can  seize 
as  a  point  of  vital  contact  with  Moslems  there  is  none 
superior  to  the  fact  of  the  Christ.  Islam,  as  we  have 
seen,  admits  His  coming,  His  supernatural  birth,  His 
high  office  as  the  Bringer  of  a  special  revelation  from 
God,  His  sinlessness.  His  compassion,  and  His  power 
to  work  miracles.  His  very  names  afford  so  many 
points  of  departure  to  lead  from  the  Koran  and 
tradition  to  the  Gospels.  The  contradictory  accounts 
I  Edinburgh  Conference  Report,  vol.  iv.  p.  141. 


182  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

of  His  death,  by  tlieir  very  contradictions  and  subter- 
fuges, point  to  the  Cross  of  Christ  and  His  death  for 
sinners  as  the  only  solution.  Jesus  Christ  is  our 
peace ;  the  day  He  was  born,  the  day  He  died,  and 
the  day  He  was  raised  again  (Surah  19  :  34),  and  these 
three  great  days  to  which  the  Koran  calls  attention 
in  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ  are  the  three  great  holy 
days  in  the  calendar  of  the  Church — Christmas,  Good 
Friday,  and  Easter.  By  admitting  the  truths  which 
we  hold  in  common  with  Moslems,  by  bidding  them 
look  away  from  their  broken  lights  and  flickering 
shadows  to  the  "  true  Light  which  enlighteneth  every 
man  that  cometh  into  the  world,"  we  can  best  of  all 
help  Moslems. 

Just  as  the  "Moslem  conception  of  God  is  base, 
unholy,  and  to  the  Christian  utterly  repugnant,"  ^  yet 
Mohammedan  theism  is  a  foundation  on  which  we  can 
build  a  fuller  knowledge  of  the  Godhead,  of  His  holiness, 
justice,  and  love ;  so  Moslems  who  know  Jesus  as  a 
mere  j)ropliet  will  for  this  very  reason  welcome  a 
larger  knowledge  of  His  character,  and  be  led  from 
the  Koran  caricature  to  the  Gospel  portrait.  Our 
preaching  should  be  constructive,  and  in  this  way  it 
will  most  surely  be  destructive.  We  can  break  down 
false  ideas  of  God  and  of  Christ  in  Moslem  theology 
most  surely  and  most  speedily  by  full  proclamation 
of  those  very  truths  which  Islam  lacks.  Without 
denying    the    fact    that   Islam   is   in   its   spirit   anti- 

^  Edinhurgh  Conference  Report^  vol.  iv.  p.  141. 


HOW  TO  PREACH  CHRIST  183 

Christian,  that  it  contains  much  that  is  positively 
harmful  in  ethics,  and  that  it  is  wholly  deficient  in 
those  doctrines  which  are  the  very  heart  of  Chris- 
tianity, we  nevertheless  admit  that  the  acceptance 
of  the  Old  Testament  prophets,  the  peculiar  honours 
paid  to  our  Lord,  and  the  testimony  to  the  sacred 
scriptures  found  in  the  Koran,  are  important  prepara- 
tory elements  in  spite  of  many  qualifications  and 
denials.  We  must  become  Moslems  to  the  Moslem 
if  we  would  gain  them  for  Christ.  We  must  do  this 
in  the  Pauline  sense,  without  compromise,  but  with 
self-sacrificing  sympathy  and  unselfish  love.  The 
Christian  missionary  should  first  of  all  thoroughly 
know  the  religion  of  the  people  among  whom  he 
labours ;  ignorance  of  the  Koran,  the  traditions,  the 
life  of  Mohammed,  the  Moslem  conception  of  Christ, 
social  beliefs  and  prejudices  of  Mohammedans,  which 
are  the  result  of  their  religion, — ignorance  of  these  is 
the  chief  difficulty  in  work  for  Moslems. 

The  nearest  way  to  the  Moslem  heart  can  often  be  ^ 
found  better  by  subjective  than  by  objective  study. 
The  barrier  may  be  in  the  heart  of  the  missionary 
as  well  as  in  the  heart  of  the  Moslem.  He  should 
cultivate  sympathy  to  the  highest  degree  and  an 
appreciation  of  all  the  great  fundamental  truths 
which  we  hold  in  common  with  Moslem.  He  should 
show  the  superiority  of  Christianity  both  in  doctrine 
and  life  by  admitting  the  excellences  of  doctrine  and 
life   in   Mohammedanism,   but    showing    immediately 


184  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

how  Christianity  far  surpasses  them.  Many  Moslems 
are  at  heart  dissatisfied  with  Mohammed  as  an  ideal 
of  character.  In  spite  of  later  tradition,  the  bold 
outline  of  his  life  and  character  as  shown  in  the 
Koran  stands  out  and  perplexes  them.  The  incon- 
sistencies of  his  conduct  are  not  taken  away  by  the 
whitewash  of  tradition.  His  relations  to  women 
especially  present  a  moral  difficulty  to  many  Moham- 
medans who  are  beginning  to  think  in  higher  terms 
of  ethics.  Therefore,  while  the  missionary  should  be 
careful  not  to  offend  needlessly,  he  should  boldly 
challenge  a  comparison  between  the  life  of  Mohammed 
and  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ,  even  as  known  to  Moslems 
from  their  own  books.  Compromise  in  this  regard  will 
not  win  the  respect  of  Moslems.  They  glorify  their 
prophet,  why  should  we  not  glorify  ours  ?  A  loving 
and  yet  bold  presentation  of  the  distinctive  truths  of 
our  religion  and  of  the  surpassing  grandeur  and  beauty 
of  the  character  of  Jesus  Christ  will  never  alienate  a 
Moslem  heart. 
J  The  heart  of  the  Gospel  and  that  which  possesses 
the  greatest  power  of  appeal  to  Mohammedans,  as  to 
every  sinner,  is  the  union  between  God's  mercy  and 
God's  justice  manifested  in  the  Cross  of  Christ.  When 
properly  presented,  this  doctrine  is  not  only  absolutely 
novel  but  compelling  to  any  Mohammedan  who  feels  a 
sense  of  sin.  In  order  to  awaken  a  sense  of  sin,  which  is 
essential  in  all  missionary  effort,  the  ethical  standards  of 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  and  the  spotless  purity  of  the 


HOW  TO  PREACH  CHRIST  185 

life  of  Christ  must  be  presented.  It  is  not  always 
wise  at  first  to  compare  Mohammed  and  Christ.  If 
we  present  the  Christ  as  He  is  in  the  Gospel,  the  con- 
trast is  so  evident  that  the  comparison  is  made  by  the 
Mohammedan  himself.  We  should  ask  every  sincere 
Moslem  inquirer  to  study  the  Gospel  story  and  try  for 
himself  to  reach  a  true  estimate  of  Jesus  Christ,  of 
whom  Mohammed  spoke  in  such  high  terms  of  honour 
as  a  Prophet  and  an  Apostle  of  God;  to  take  the 
historical  foundations  of  the  Christian  religion  and 
examine  them  as  critically  as  he  pleases,  and  to  see 
for  himself  what  Jesus  claimed  to  be,  and  how  His 
claims  were  understood  by  His  disciples  and  by  the 
early  Church.  We  should  ask  Moslems  to  study  the 
Gospel  in  any  way  they  like,  but  with  only  one  object 
in  view,  "namely,  that  they  may  come  face  to  face 
with  Jesus  Himself;  that  they  may  learn  to  know 
Him,  and  see  how  He  claimed  to  hold  a  supreme 
position  in  the  matter  of  the  attitude  of  all  men 
toward  God,  a  position  which  none  other  has  ever 
claimed."^  In  other  words,  we  should  press  home  the 
question  Jesus  Himself  put  to  His  disciples  and  to  the 
world,  "  What  think  ye  of  the  Christ  ? " 

Are  we  not  sometimes  in  danger  of  over-esti- 
mating the  inward  strength  of  Islam  ?  The  fact  is 
that  it  is  seamed  through  and  through  with  lines 
of  cleavage  and  of  disintegration,  which  have  grown 
wider  and  deeper  with  the  centuries.     Even  the  masses 

^  Gardner,  Christianity  and  Mohammedanism  Compared,  p.  62. 


186  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

are  beginning  to  compare  and  to  think.  An  outward 
show  of  fanatic  devotion  to  the  dogma  of  Islam  is 
not  always  a  proof  of  real  faith  in  Mohammed  and 
his  teaching.  When  Saul  redoubled  his  energies  in 
persecution,  his  heart  was  already  under  conviction 
from  the  preaching  of  Stephen.  Unsatisfied 'doubt  is 
to-day  more  common  than  blind '  devotion  among 
educated  Moslems,  and  one  has  only  to  read  recent 
Moslem  literature  to  see  what  frantic  .attempts  are 
made  to  save  the  ship  of  Islam  by  throwing  overboard 
that  which  was  once  considered  good  cargo.  In  this 
connection  the  following  words  by  a  missionary 
in  Burma  who  answers  the  question,  "How  should 
we  preach  to  the  Heathen  ? "  have  their  lesson  also 
as  regards  Islam :  "  We  may  well  believe  that  heathen 
religions,  so  far  from  having  arisen  as  some  have 
vainly  imagined  out  of  the  soil  of  lofty  aspiration 
after  a  God  unknown,  are  devices  more  or  less 
elaborate  for  shutting  the  thought  of  God  as  He  is 
out  of  the  minds  and  hearts  of  men.  If  these  various 
systems  were  the  result  of  sincere  attempts  to  find 
out  God,  then  the  farther  the  system  is  developed, 
the  more  complete  in  all  its  parts,  the  more  open 
to  the  truth  ought  its  devout  adherents  to  be.  But 
precisely  the  contrary  is  true.  The  more  elaborate 
and  complete  the  system,  the  less  ready  are  its 
followers  to  yield  themselves  to  Christ.  The  Gospel 
meets  its  greatest  triumphs  not  among  those  who 
have  the  most  finished,  but  among  those  who  have 


HOW  TO  PREACH  CHRIST  187 

the  crudest  systems  of  religion.  Elaborateness,  com- 
pleteness, finish,  here  seem  to  be  elaborateness,  com- 
pleteness, finish  of  escape  from  the  consciousness 
of  God."  1 

We  must  compel  Moslems  to  go  back  to  Mohammed 
with  us ;  to  dig  beneath  the  rubbish  of  tradition  and 
in  the  original  foundations  of  Islam  to  see  what 
Mohammed  taught  in  regard  to  Jesus  Christ,  and 
what  he  himself  was,  on  the  testimony  of  his  own 
book.  The  Moslem  world  is  plastic  and  restless  as 
it  never  was  before.  There  are  critical  tendencies 
and  influences  at  work  which  before  were  dormant. 
Islam,  as  well  as  the  other  Oriental  faiths  is  recog- 
nising its  own  inadequacy  and  attempting  to  adapt 
itself  to  new  conditions.  In  the  words  of  Dr.  Mott, 
"  Islam  is  linking  itself  with  the  atheism  and  theism 
of  Western  lands,  and  is  securing  much  protection ; 
and  also  added  prestige  by  the  support  which  it 
receives  at  the  hands  of  officials  from  the  West  who 
have  broken  with  Christianity.  These  men  carry  over 
to  the  Moslem  camp  all  the  armoury  of  the  theistic 
and  atheistic  schools."  ^ 

This  revival  of  Islam  is  accompanied  also  by  a  rising 
spiritual  tide,  shown  in  a  spirit-  of  .inquiry  and  an 
unprecedented  •  demand  for  the  Scriptures,  and  the 
weakening  hold  of  Moslem  faith  and   ethics   on  the 

1  Rev.  E.  N.  Harris  in  The  Missionary  Review  of  the  World, 
April  1902,  pp.  266-268. 

2  Decisive  Hour  of  Christian  Missions,  p.  57. 


188  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

educated  classes,  although  not  yet  evident  in  numerous 
conversions.  The  investigations  of  the  Cairo  Con- 
ference and  the  reports  of  the  Lucknow  Conference 
have  proved  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  that  the 
hour  is  ripe  for  evangelising  the  Moslem  world. 

Finally,  we  may  well  ask  what  Christianity  itself 
will  gain  by  preaching  Christ  to  Moslems.  What  will 
be  the  reflex-influence  of  a  campaign  for  the  evangelisa- 
tion of  the  Moslem  w^orld  ?  What  are  the  moraLissues 
involved. in  the  coming  conflict  between  Christian  and 
Islamic  theism  ?  That  such  a  conflict  is  inevitable 
the  preceding  chapters  have  abundantly  proved,  for, 
in  the  words  of  Dr.  Kobert  E.  Speer,^  "Missions  do 
not  rest  upon  a  maudlin  erasure  of  all  lines  of  distinct 
opinion  of  truth,  and  the  purchase  -  of  good .  feeling 
by  the  surrender -of  principle  to  sentimental  sloven- 
liness.   They  involve  the  fierce* clash  of  truth  and  error." 

First  of  all,  the  Church  will  gain  a  stronger  grip 
ion  the  great  fundamentals  of  the  Christian  faith.  The 
doctrines  of  the  Incarnation,  the  Atonement,  and  the 
Trinity  will  become  more  and  more  the  subject  of 
special  study  as  we  meet  Moslems  face  to  face  in 
the  battle  for  the  truth.  In  reading  the  Gospel  with 
and  to  Moslems,  it  will  become  evident  more  and 
more  to  every  Christian  that  the  death  of  Christ, 
which  is  denied  in  Islam,  occupies  the  supreme  place 
in  the  Gospels  and  in  the  Epistles  as  the  very  heart 
of   God's   revelation   to   man.     The    same   is   true   in 

^  Cf.  Speer,  Missionary  Principles  and  Practice,  pp.  109-129. 


HOW  TO  PREACH  CHRIST  189 

regard  to  the  nature  and  evidences  of  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  Christ,  and  our  faith  in  the  character  of  the 
Godhead  as  compared  with  the  barren  monotheism 
of  Islam.  ^ 

In  the  second  place,  the  Christian  Church  will  be 
forced  to  work  out  her  theology  experientially  when 
in  contact  and  conflict  with  unitarian,  deistic  Islam. 
j  In  this  respect  the  Mohammedan  problem  may  possibly 
be  as  life  from  the  dead  to  the  Oriental  Churches 
when  they  face  its  real  -  and  spiritual  -  issues,  and  • 
become  conscious  of  the  duty  of  evangelism.  The 
doctrine  of  the  Incarnation  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
are  not  pieces  of  polished  armoury  to  be  kept  on 
exhibition  in  proof  of  our  orthodoxy,  but  are  vital, 
to  the  very  life  of  the  Christian.  The  orthodox 
Eastern  Church  will  be  impotent  over  against  Islam 
as  long  as  it  is  merely  orthodox  in  its  creed.  The 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity  must  be  vitalised  to  become 
effective  over  against  Moslem  unitarianism.  Rev. 
W.  H.  T.  Gairdner  has  pointed  out  some  of  these 
"  important  moral  issues  involved  in  this  conflict 
between  trinitarian  and  Islamic  monotheism."^  He 
says,  "  Islam  forces  us  to  find  the  Trinity  in  our 
hearts,  and  it  forces  us  to  find  the  Trinity  in  the 
heart  of  God."  After  considering  the  solitary,  in- 
scrutable, and  characterless  Sultan  of  heaven  whom 
the  Moslems  call  Allah,  he  asks  this  question :  "  Are 

^  See  his  paper  on  this  subject  at  the  Pan -Anglican  Conference  ; 
reprinted  in  Blessed  he  Egypt.     Cairo,  1909. 


190  THE  MOSLEM  CHRIST 

not  Moslem  deism  and  Christian  trinitarian  theism 
between  them  forcing  the  Church  to  consider  this 
problem  yet  once  again,  and  in  relation  to  the  mystery 
of  the  Atonement  to  read  a  richer  meaning  into  the 
great  verse,  '  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world 
to  Himself.' " 

Even  as  a  study  of  the  Moslem  doctrine  of  God 
again  and  again  forces  from  our  hearts  an  overflow 
of  thanksgiving  and  praise  for  the  knowledge  of  the 
only  true  God  as  He  is  revealed  in  the  Scriptures, 
so  a  study  of  the  Moslem  Christ  and  of  Mohammedan 
substitutes  for  the  only  Mediator  between  God  and 
men  will  lead  us  more  than  ever  to  a  deeper  knowledge 
and  a  stronger,  more  passionate  devotion  to  Him 
"in  Whom  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
bodily,"  and  Who,  because  of  His  sacrifice  and  death 
for  sinners,  is  worthy  to  receive  '''  power  and  riches  and 
wisdom  and  might  and  honour  and  glory  and  blessing." 

In  the  third  place,  it  will  be  clearly  seen  that 
Unitarianism  is  not  Christianity,  when  we  study  the 
Moslem  doctrine  of  God  and  the  Moslem  doctrine 
of  Christ.  Modern  Unitarianism,  like  Islam,  begins  • 
by  trying  to  do  full  justice  to  the  humanity  of  Jesus, 
but  the  logical  outcome  of  this  position  has  been  well 
pointed  out  by  Dr.  Duncan  B.  MacDonald  in  a  remark- 
able address  on  "  One  phase  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Unity  of  God."  He  refers  especially  to  the  Unity 
of  God  according  to  Moslem  Theology. 

"  The  new    Unitarianism   seeks   to   carry    over   the  p 


HOW  TO  PREACH  CHRIST  191 

emotional  content  of  Christianity,  after  abandoning  ' 
the  metaphysical  realities  which  make  that  emotion 
abidingly  possible.  The  incarnate  Word  is  a  metaphor, 
mythologised  and  misinterpreted,  but  it  is  still  to 
declare  to  us  the  Father  and  to  be  the  Light  of  the 
world.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  a  figurative  expression, 
but  it  is  still  to  be  the  abiding  Comforter  and  the 
Lord  and  Giver  of  life.  We  are  to  be  strict  monists, 
and  yet  we  are  to  be  branches  of  the  Vine,  nourished 
by  the  mystical  Vision.  .  .  ." 

"  But  if  we  are  to  be  Unitarians  as  to  the  person  of 
God,  is  all  this  possible?  That  is,  if  God  is  to  be 
conceived  as  an  internal  as  well  as  an  external  unity, 
how  will  that  conception,  in  the  ultimate  working  out, 
affect  our  feeling  towards  Him,  affect  our  doctrine 
of  Him  ?  Our  historical  Unitarianism,  as  I  have  said, 
never  faced  that  problem ;  or,  rather,  it  thought  that 
it  could  take  the  Christian  conception  of  God,  cut 
away  from  that  conception  the  elements  to  which  it 
objected  and  retain  the  rest.  But  you  cannot  take 
a  man,  if  I  may  be  allowed  the  parallel,  cut  away 
from  him  the  organs  of  which  you  disapprove,  and 
think  that  he  will  still  remain  a  good-going  and 
working  man.  The  excision  of  a  very  small  organ 
may  upset  the  whole  organism.  And  it  is  an  organism 
with  which  we  are  dealing,  and  not  a  mechanical 
combination."  Later  in  his  paper,  when  speaking  of 
the  Moslem  doctrine  of  God  as  current  in  early 
Moslem  literature,  he  exclaims  : — 


192  THE  MOSLEIM  CHRIST 

"  And  when  the  thunder  of  the  hoofs  of  these  warriors  for  the 
greater  glory  of  God  has  echoed  past,  what  is  left  ?  What  was 
left  for  the  Muslims  ?  What  is  left  for  us  ?  As  I  see  it,  only 
two  possibilities.  Either  such  a  conception  as  the  Christian 
Trinity,  which  breaks  the  awful  inpassibility  of  the  logically 
unified  absolute,  which  renders  possible  sympathy,  affection, 
love,  trust ;  which  makes  God  knowable — that  is  how  the  Sori 
reveals  the  Father  to  us ;  which  makes  us  the  Sons  of  God, 
partakers  of  the  divine  nature,  and  not  simply  the  creatures 
of  His  hand  ;  which  finds  within  the  Christian  Church  the 
Holy  Ghost,  the  Comforter,  the  Lord  and  Giver  of  Life ;  and 
which  yet  preserves  God — Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost — as  a 
conscious,  knowing,  feeling,  willing  individual.  Either  that  or 
Pantheism,  in  which  the  many  vanish  in  the  one,  and  the  one 
vanishes  in  the  many.  .  .  . 

"  All  attempts  to  simplify  the  metaphysical  basis  of  our  faith 
have,  under  the  test  of  time  and  life,  failed.  Deists  and  theists 
have  come  and  gone.  Ethics  and  natural  theology  have  claimed 
their  own  and  more,  have  had,  for  a  time,  their  claims 
allowed  and  then  have  vanished.  In  many  ways  the  Christian 
Church  has  moved ;  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit  has  not  failed 
it.  Its  faith  has  seen  many  hypotheses,  has  been  enfolded  in 
many  garments.  But  to  the  seeker  in  the  great  space  that  lies 
between  materialism  and  Pantheism  the  presentation  that  still 
expresses  most  adequately  the  mystery  behind  our  lives  is  that 
in  the  Christian  Trinity,  and  the  words  that  come  the  nearest 
are  those  of  the  Nicene  Creed."  ^ 

Let  a  Moslem  once  feel  the  burden  of  his  sins,  and 
turn  away  from  Mohammed  and  the  Moslem  Christ 
to  the  Living  Saviour,  the  Son  of  God  revealed  in  the 
Gospel,  the  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of 
the  world,  and  all  his  intellectual  difficulties  vanish  like 

*  Annual  Address,  Hartford  Seminary,  September  1909.  See 
Hartford  Seminary  Record. 


HOW  TO  PREACH  CHRIST  193 

the  morning  mist  before  the  rising  sun.  Moslem 
converts  are  no  longer  Unitarians.  They  confess  with 
heart  and  mouth,  with  the  whole  Church  Catholic : 

'*  5  Mitbz  in  one  ffioti  tfte  Jatjet  ^Imigljtg,  JEaker  of 
Ijeaben  anti  eartlj,  anli  of  all  tfjings  bmblz  antJ  inbi'giftBe. 

**  ^nti  in  one  Hotti  Jesus  €\}xiQi,  tte  onXgr^begotten  Son 
of  ffiotr,  Ijecfotten  of  tfje  father  before  all  tootltjs,  ffiotj 
of  ffioti,  ILisbt  of  Higljt,  iierg  ffiob  of  berg  CKoti,  begotten, 
not  matie,  beintj  of  one  substance  tniti^  tlje  iFat!)er;  bg 
TO^om  all  things  toere  ntatte ;  TOfto,  for  us  men  anti  for 
our  salbation,  came  tioixin  from  Ijeaben,  nntj  toas  incarnate 
bg  ttje  f^olg  ffiljast  of  tlje  Uirgin  i^arg,  antJ  inas  matic 
man;  anti  ijjas  crucifieti  also  for  us  untier  Pontius  Pilate; 
l^e  sufferetJ  anlf  iuas  burieti;  ant  tlje  tl)irti  tiag  f^e  rose 
again,  accortiing  to  t{)e  Scriptures;  antu  ascentietJ  into 
f)eaben,  antJ  sittet!)  on  tl)e  rigl^t  \)mti  of  tfje  Jatfjer;  antJ 
f^E  sball  come  again  init!)  glorg  to  jutige  botlj  tlje  quick 
antr  tje  ticatj ;  TOi^ose  kingtiom  sljall  jjabe  no  enti. 

**  ^nti  in  tl}e  f^olg  OSfjost,  tje  3Lortr  antr  (Kiber  of  Hife ; 
tobo  proceetretb  from  tlje  jFatber  anti  tl)e  Son,  baljo  tuit]^  tje 
iFatb^r  anti  tbe  Son  together  is  inorsjippetr  anti  glorifietJ, 
ij3b«3  spake  bg  tl)e  prophets*  ♦  .  ." 


13 


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